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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24662260">All You Asked</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyMagnatar/pseuds/Ramabear'>Ramabear (RyMagnatar)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Not A Hero; Just A Student [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Enji's living a real monkey paw existence here, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Isekai, KHR Rarepair Week, M/M, Mild Homophobic Language, Swearing, aka Enji and Rei's entire relationship, for someone so smart Izuku can be real dumb sometimes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:42:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>51,958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24662260</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyMagnatar/pseuds/Ramabear</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Katsuki has been Izuku's best friend since he was three years old. Katsuki is the smartest person he knows. After all, Katsuki taught him everything from how to read and speak multiple languages to completing complex math equations with relative ease. Katsuki's always been protective and considerate of him and he's done his best to be a good friend in turn. Which makes it all the worse when Izuku comes to a surprising realization with the help of some of his classmates: Katsuki is in love with him.</p><p>*******</p><p>All Enji wanted was to surpass All Might. He couldn't do it himself, so he set about having and raising a child to do it for him. His first three children were failures, but he had high hopes for the fourth one. That child was going to be everything Enji had ever hoped for. And he was right. As far as his quirks went, Shouto was exactly what Enji was looking for.</p><p>It was everything else about him that was so much more than Enji had ever anticipated.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bakugou Katsuki &amp; Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto, Gokudera Hayato/Xanxus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Not A Hero; Just A Student [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800739</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>235</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1038</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>BNHA, Home of Magnificent Fanfiction, Identity Crisis, KHR, KHR Rare Pair Week 2020, Long Fics to Binge, Reincarnation and Transmigration, There are no words for this beauty</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Your First Friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">



        <li>In response to a prompt by
            Anonymous in the <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/collections/KHR_Rare_Pair_Week_2020">KHR_Rare_Pair_Week_2020</a>
          collection.
        </li>
    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Izuku met his best friend when he was just three years old. </p>
<p>At the time, he wasn’t aware that his mother was looking to pick up some extra spending money, because things had gotten a little tight these days, what with Hisashi getting that second apartment in the city so he could shorten his commute and spend more time working. There had been some sort of upheaval in the offices, and he’d had to put in more hours to deal with something or other, he’d never really fully explained what it was to Inko, and because of that, he couldn’t spare the hour and a half it took to commute to work on, well commuting. Rather than getting a hotel room, he got a small apartment instead, and Inko was left with a much lower budget to manage the household affairs.</p>
<p>There wasn’t much that she could do since she was at home with Izuku most of the day, and her previous work experience was mostly retail positions, but she found a family down the street who was looking for someone to tend their son during the day while both parents worked. They had tried a few other daycares, including a rather prestigious one that had touted a caregiver to child ratio of one to eight or so, but their son was a bit more demanding than most children. He needed more attention, more direct interaction.</p>
<p>They were debating getting a nanny of some sort when they found out about Inko; she was the ideal candidate. She lived nearby. She had a son the same age. She was kind and attentive. And she wasn’t as expensive as a visiting nanny. So they gave it a shot.</p>
<p>But these were the details that Izuku never knew.</p>
<p>All he knew was that one day a man came to the front door with a little blond boy about three years old (The same age as him!) and left him there. </p>
<p>If his mother hadn’t acted like this was a totally expected thing to have happened, he would have been a lot more worried. Adults weren’t just supposed to leave kids at other people’s houses! </p>
<p>But his mother had welcomed the boy in and told him where to keep his shoes and where he could put down his backpack and said goodbye to the man that Izuku figured must be the boy’s father, though they didn’t look alike. He watched from the kitchen doorway, peeking around the corner to stay mostly hidden.</p>
<p>When the man was gone, and only the boy remained, Izuku poked his head out farther. His mother smiled at him and waved him over. </p>
<p>“Izuku,” she said to him as he crept closer, “This is Bakugou Katsuki. He’s the little boy from down the street that I told you about last week.” He didn’t remember that, but he nodded anyway. “He’ll be spending all day with us during the week, so I want you two to get along, okay?”</p>
<p>Izuku looked at the other little boy. He looked kind of bored as he stood there. He was staring at the wall, not looking at either of them, and Izuku worried about that.</p>
<p>“Is he okay, Mama?” Izuku asked. </p>
<p>His mother blinked at him, “Why, of course he is, Izuku.”</p>
<p>Katsuki looked at him instead of the wall after he asked that, and he tilted his head to one side. Izuku offered a hesitant smile. He didn’t <em>look </em>scary or mean, even if his eyes were red, and his hair was all spiky. He still just looked… bored.</p>
<p>“Let’s get some toys out to play with,” Inko said cheerfully as she walked past Katsuki and Izuku. “Come along, boys!”</p>
<p>When she was gone, Katsuki walked up to him. Izuku leaned back because Katsuki got really close to him, leaning into his face. He reached up and squished Izuku’s cheeks. Izuku held still- this wasn’t an altogether uncommon experience. His mother sometimes squished his cheeks, and there was that little girl at the park with the new baby sister who would do it too, calling him a baby. He didn’t like that as much, but at least when Katsuki squished his cheeks, he didn’t do it hard enough to hurt.</p>
<p>Katsuki peered into his face, really looked hard into his eyes, and then said, much to Izuku’s bewilderment, “If you’re not a sky, I’ll eat my shoes.”</p>
<p>“Eh?” Izuku blinked and then blinked again when Katsuki sighed very deeply. “Shoes aren’t for eating,” Izuku said, worried that Katsuki might, for some reason, eat <em>his </em>shoes.</p>
<p>“Obviously,” Katsuki said, “Come on, your mom is going to be worried if we take forever to show up. Let’s,” and here he sighed again, his expression looking even more bored than before, “<em> play.”  </em></p>
<p>Not understanding why Katsuki didn’t seem interested in playing but hopeful that he could help him with that, Izuku nodded. He took Katsuki’s hand without questioning it. After all, Katsuki had squished his face, so they were friends now and led him off to his bedroom to play. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Inko wasn’t quite sure if she should be worried or not. </p>
<p>She’d been watching Katsuki for a few months now, and all the things she <em>had </em>worried about being a problem weren’t. He had been a little bossy to Izuku, but not really in a selfish or mean way. They hadn’t fought over toys or attention or anything. They got along better than actual siblings, she thought. He wasn’t a picky eater. He didn’t ask bewildering questions. He didn’t disobey her at home or when they went on outings. He did what she asked him to do and usually did it the first time, too. He was safety-conscious, holding hands outside and never crossing the street without looking, without an adult. He tidied up after himself even more than Izuku did. He seemed a little obsessive at times, sometimes compulsively so, and he was an incredibly organized child, but it didn’t seem like much of a problem.</p>
<p>He was a perfect child in almost every respect.</p>
<p>Except she was pretty sure he was teaching Izuku how to speak a foreign language or two. And that wasn’t all he was teaching him either. Izuku had gone from sounding out short words in children’s books to reading the signs in store windows as they passed in <em>a week. </em>She had found them reading a book together on the couch during their afternoon quiet time, Katsuki’s finger moving down the page as he read one line and then Izuku reading the next line, following along with Katsuki.</p>
<p>Izuku had known his sounds and his colors and his shapes before he met Katsuki, but he started doing little bits of math too, and she hadn’t really been teaching him that. She hadn’t really been teaching either of them that. Yet when she took them to the park and bought them ice cream and because it would be cute, she gave them the money to give to the ice cream vendor, Katsuki had put his hand out for change and stared at the man dead in the eye until he gave it over. It had only been a little bit of change, Inko hadn’t minded if he kept it, but Katsuki did. He didn’t like to be cheated. He liked to keep track of the money.</p>
<p>He had very diligently given back that single coin to Inko, thanking her for buying them ice cream.</p>
<p>He was a very proper little boy. But sometimes his manners were bizarre. </p>
<p>Inko had met both of his parents multiple times. They even had dinner at their house, Izuku delighted by the visit, and Inko just even more confused because his parents weren’t like him at all. Masaru was jovial and kind of quiet, but very relaxed. Mitsuki was loud and bright, a little assertive, and a chatterbox.</p>
<p>Katsuki was reserved, organized, minorly obsessive-compulsive, and incredibly intelligent.</p>
<p>Inko was <em>sure </em>that he was teaching Izuku English and Italian. English she understood, but Italian? Why Italian?</p>
<p>When asked how Katsuki knew Italian, Mitsuki had just said that he liked to watch Italian news for some reason. He had done it since he was tiny. It was only one of his little quirks. It was all very strange.</p>
<p>Inko wasn’t entirely sure if she should be worried about it. It wasn’t like it was <em>bad </em>or anything. Izuku seemed to really enjoy learning things, and he got smarter all the time and had more and more questions. And she was pretty sure that Katsuki wasn’t just making things up since she’d seen him, more than once, look something on the tablet she let them use to watch videos together in response to some question Izuku asked and Katsuki didn’t know the answer.</p>
<p>That was a bit worrying, actually. Katsuki never stayed in the child protected part of things. He had learned how to unlock the tablet and get to the unrestricted part to skim news articles and watch videos that weren’t cartoons or for children. Nothing <em>bad</em>. They weren’t violent shows or inappropriate<em>. </em>They were mostly news broadcasts from various places around the world.</p>
<p>They were kind of boring, actually. Even Inko didn’t watch that much news, and she only really paid attention to what was happening locally. </p>
<p>Perhaps the only <em>real </em>bad thing that she had to worry about was Katsuki’s language. He was very articulate, had always had a large vocabulary, which had led to Izuku asking Inko questions about words all the time, but he also had a habit of cursing. Not all the time, true, but not just in anger either. The words seemed to slip out of him, mostly unnoticed, and he’d only apologize if she called him out on it.</p>
<p>She had to put her foot down about that, though, because Izuku repeated those words, and she wasn’t about to have him swearing so casually. He was only three and a half!</p>
<p>Thankfully, Katsuki did seem at least a little embarrassed when he got caught. But he <em>tried </em>to do better, and that was going to have to be good enough.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku was trying not to cry as he walked beside Katsuki on their way to his house after school.</p>
<p>His hands hurt from where he’d caught himself on the concrete; the skin scraped away and bloody. His knee hurt from where it hit a rock when he landed, and it gave a painful twinge with each step. But it was the ache in his chest from the laughing mockery of those other boys that hurt the worst. </p>
<p>Katsuki was quiet beside him, walking with him, and occasionally sniffling and wiping at his face. His nose had mostly stopped bleeding, but there were smudges of blood on his face and his hands. He scowled at the ground as they walked, looking upset but not crying about it.</p>
<p>Katsuki was so strong. He never ever cried about anything. Izuku cried about things all the time. He couldn’t help it. Whenever he got caught up in something, if it was super happy or super sad, he always teared up.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Kacchan,” Izuku hiccuped. He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes and tried to stop the tears that had just started to fall, “I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>“What are you sorry about?” Katsuki asked, unusually quiet. He frowned at Izuku.</p>
<p>“F-for everything,” Izuku said. “I’m sorry about everything.”</p>
<p>“Don’t be sorry,” Katsuki said, “They’re a bunch of bastards anyway. Next time-” he stopped himself and sighed. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Next time we’ll pay better attention. We’ll see them before they see us and we’ll avoid them. Eventually, they’ll get bored and leave us alone.”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to hide with me if you don’t want to,” Izuku said, even though the words made his heart break, “I know they were your friends before this. If you want to-” He stopped and winced when Katsuki reached up and pinched his cheek. </p>
<p>“Don’t you say that kind of bullshit,” Katsuki swore at him. He pulled on Izuku’s cheek, really scowling at him, “I don’t care about any of those idiots. They’re bullies. <em> You’re </em>my friend, Izuku. All the rest of those idiots could go walk off a cliff for all I care.”</p>
<p>“Kacchan!” Izuku exclaimed, “Don’t say that! That’s not what a hero would say.”</p>
<p>Katsuki let go of his cheek. “I’m not a hero, Izuku.” He hooked his arm around Izuku’s neck and pulled him along, so they were walking together again. “Besides, that’s how you got into this mess, isn’t it? You had to stick up for that other kid. You know you don’t have a quirk, Izuku. You’re just a target to assholes like that.”</p>
<p>“But Kacchan,” Izuku mumbled, “It’s what a hero would’ve done. A hero wouldn’t let someone get bullied. I helped Tatsuyo-kun, and you helped me-”</p>
<p>“I’m <em>not </em>a hero,” Katsuki said firmly. “I helped <em>you, </em>but I wouldn’t help anyone else. I don’t care about other people.”</p>
<p>“But Kacchan.”</p>
<p>“No buts,” Katsuki said, “It’s the truth.”</p>
<p>“Don’t you want to be a hero at all?” Izuku asked, “You have a quirk that would blow up villains, and you could save people and, and-” He went quiet at the hard look in Katsuki’s eyes. </p>
<p>Katsuki could sometimes do that, could sometimes look at Izuku with eyes that were very hard and felt very old for some reason. Izuku always went quiet when Katsuki looked like that. He only did it when he was very serious.</p>
<p>“You can be a hero if you want to be,” Katsuki said, “You’d make a good hero, even if you don’t have a quirk, but I wouldn’t. I don’t- I can’t care about people like that, Izuku. I can’t care about everyone I meet. That’s too many people to care about. I can’t do that.” He blinked a few times, and his hard look turned so sad. The tears that had mostly dried up in Izuku’s eyes started up again. “I can’t do that again, okay? I’ll look after you, and that’s it.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Izuku said. “I’m sorry, Kacchan. If I had a quirk-”</p>
<p>“It’s not your fault you don’t have a quirk, Izuku,” Katsuki said. He ruffled Izuku’s hair with one hand. “And I like you just the way you are okay? You don’t need a quirk to be my best friend.” </p>
<p>“B-but-” The tears were really falling now, and he hiccuped a lot. Katsuki sighed and dug around in his pockets for a packet of tissues. He pulled one out and gave it to Izuku. “B-but- I would be better if I had a quirk, wouldn’t it be?”</p>
<p>“Quirks don’t make you better,” Katsuki said, “They just make you different. What makes you better is the way you treat other people.” He gave Izuku a kind of strange smile, “That’s why you’ll always be better than me, Izuku, because you treat people better than I do. Yes, you do, don’t try and argue with me. You want to be a hero, Izuku. You want to save people because you care about them. You’re a good person. I’m not like that.”</p>
<p>Izuku cried harder. He couldn’t get Katsuki to just see what he saw. He couldn’t find the right words to tell Katsuki how he was wrong. Katsuki was so great! He was the best! He was so nice, and he cared so much, and he had saved Izuku. Katsuki was <em>his </em>hero, even if he didn’t want to be anyone’s hero. </p>
<p>Katsuki didn’t tell him to stop crying or call him a crybaby, even though Izuku had to sit down on the ground because he couldn’t stop crying. He just sat down with Izuku and handed him another tissue when his got all bunched up and wet. They sat on the grass beside the sidewalk for what felt like forever. Izuku struggled to stop crying this time, and he wasn’t sure why.</p>
<p>Katsuki waited with him the whole time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. All Might's Influence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Somehow, meeting All Might turned out to be the best and worst thing to ever happen to Izuku. </p>
<p>It had been great up until the point where All Might transformed into a different form. Then it had turned kind of bad because Izuku hadn’t realized he was so hurt all the time. </p>
<p>And it had gone from kind of bad to outright awful when All Might told him to give up his dream of being a hero. <em> He didn’t have a quirk, </em>so he shouldn’t even try.</p>
<p>Being angry with All Might hadn’t ever been something Izuku thought he would feel, but when it happened, he was swept up into the feeling as he got swept along with all his feelings, and he found himself shouting like Katsuki at him.</p>
<p>“I <em> will </em>be a hero. I’ll be the <em>greatest </em>hero. Even if you don’t believe in me, <em> I </em> believe in me, and my best friend does too! He doesn’t think heroes are worth shit, but he says that I’m different, and I’d be a good hero. You can’t stop me, so don’t even try! I <em> will </em>become a hero!” </p>
<p>All Might’s jaw had hung open for a bit in shock, but before he could reply, he began to cough heavily. Izuku felt <em>terrible </em>for yelling at All Might, but at least he wasn’t crying about it. Not yet, anyway. He had managed to keep his tears at bay for the moment.</p>
<p>They had parted ways not long after that. </p>
<p>Izuku was crying by the time he reached the streets again. He wanted to find Katsuki- who had been sent off by his mother to do errands unexpectedly- and he wanted the comfort that Katsuki could give him. He hated crying in public like this, hated feeling so terrible while alone, so he headed out to find his friend.</p>
<p>And he did, too. He found Katsuki along with a crowd of people. Horror filled him at the sight of Katsuki almost entirely covered by the same sludge villain All Might had saved him from. It replaced all the heartache and uncertainty and tears. There were heroes there, watching this, <em> standing by, </em> and while Izuku knew their powers well enough to logically understand there was nothing they could do against this villain, his heart ached for a whole new reason. Weren’t they even going to <em>try?  </em></p>
<p>
  <em> Can’t they see how scared Katsuki is? </em>
</p>
<p>His feet were moving before he realized it. His hands clasping the strap of his bag. His body turning, swinging with all his might, slamming his bag square on to the villain’s face. Katsuki was able to lift his head out of the slime, gasping for breath. He turned his hands around, palms facing the villain, and Izuku saw a bright fire of yellow and a little bit of red light up his hands. There was an explosion- stronger than any explosion Izuku had seen Katsuki make before- and suddenly there was a void right behind where Katsuki was being held. </p>
<p>Katsuki dropped as the sludge began to fall, to reform. Izuku ran forward and grabbed him. The sludge began to slink up his arms but he didn’t stop. He hauled on Katsuki as Katsuki used his quirk to propel himself forward. His explosions were more red than yellow this time and the sludge villain screamed in pain. </p>
<p>And it released Katsuki. </p>
<p>They stumbled backward together. Katsuki gasping for breath, clinging to Izuku’s arms. Izuku struggled to keep on his feet, dragging Katsuki away from danger.</p>
<p>He was so focused on Katsuki he almost missed what happened next. There was a rush of air, a chorus of surprise from the crowd, and then All Might was before the villain, defeating it with a single punch and evaporating the clouds in the sky to let in the bright sunlight.</p>
<p>Another hero came and helped them get to a safe distance and get the last bits of sludge off of Katsuki. Izuku held onto his best friend tightly, hugging him harder than he ever had before. Tears poured down his face as it hit him all at once that if he hadn’t been there- If he hadn’t rushed in- If he’d just gone home instead of out to find Katsuki-</p>
<p>Sure, a hero came to save him eventually, but he’d almost been fully absorbed when Izuku appeared, all but his hands, his face, and part of a leg had vanished away. Izuku had almost lost Katsuki.</p>
<p>Even with his amazing quirk, Katsuki had almost been eaten by a villain.</p>
<p>“Hey kid,” the hero said, “Ease up on your grip there. Your friend needs to breathe.”</p>
<p>“Fuck off,” Katsuki said, his voice muffled. He turned his head so his face wasn’t pinned against Izuku’s shoulder and Izuku felt his arms circle around his waist. “He just saved my fucking life, if he wants to hug it out, we’re gonna fucking hug it out. Go away.”</p>
<p>Izuku just sobbed. Katsuki sounded just like himself. He sounded okay. He clung tighter to his friend, “I almost lost you,” he wept, “I almost lost you forever, Kacchan.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Katsuki mumbled to him, “I should’ve been more careful. He just came out of nowhere.” His arms tightened around Izuku and, switching to Italian, he whispered, <em> “I’m sorry I gave up before you got here.” </em></p>
<p>Izuku’s head jerked back and he stared down at Katsuki, but Katsuki wasn’t looking at him, he was staring off to the side. <em> “What? What did you say?” </em></p>
<p>Katsuki closed his eyes tightly. <em> “I gave up. I didn’t- I didn’t fight as hard as I could’ve at the beginning. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have- I shouldn’t have thought you would be okay if I was gone.” </em></p>
<p><em> “Kacchan,” </em> Izuku didn’t know what to say to that. His heart hurt and his head hurt and he felt cold all over. He held Katsuki tighter and pressed his face against Katsuki’s shoulder, sobbing harder. <em> “Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me. You’re my best and only friend, Kacchan.” </em></p>
<p>Katsuki’s fingers dug into his back as he held him tightly. <em> “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I won’t do that again.” </em></p>
<p>Before Izuku could say he forgave him because of course he forgave Katsuki, he would always forgive Katsuki, a shadow fell over them. He looked up, blinking back tears, and saw All Might. The hero looked down at him and then, after a moment, crouched down to his level. His voice was surprisingly soft as he asked, “This is your friend?” <em> The one who believes in you? </em>The second question wasn’t out loud but Izuku could see it in the way he looked at Katsuki.</p>
<p>Izuku nodded, “This is Kacchan- Katsuki. He’s- He’s my best friend.”</p>
<p>He felt Katsuki lift his head to look at All Might. He felt him tense up at the sight of him, but he didn’t hear him say anything.</p>
<p>“I’m glad you held out as long as you did, young man,” All Might said, “I know being attacked by a villain is a terrifying experience, but you’re going to be okay now.” He gave them both a smile, “After all, you two have a strong bond of friendship. You’ll do well supporting each other.”</p>
<p>Izuku blinked a few times. What did that mean? Was All Might talking about more than what had just happened? Did he mean Katsuki’s support of Izuku was a good thing too?</p>
<p>All Might reached out and pat Katsuki on the head once and then ruffled Izuku’s hair. “I know the urge to run in and save people can be a bit overwhelming, young man, so be careful. You’ll want some real hero training before you do something like this again.”</p>
<p>Izuku’s eyes widened and then widened some more as All Might gave him a thumbs up and stood. He saluted them briefly and then left, not hurrying away but not taking his time either. Izuku stared after him, finding it hard to catch his breath. Had- Had that just happened? Did All Might mean he thought Izuku <em>could </em>be a hero?</p>
<p>“He’s right,” Katsuki muttered, “You need training. What the hell were you thinking, pulling on my shirt to drag me out of there? You need better techniques.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, Kacchan,” Izuku mumbled, feeling starstruck and emotionally drained. He’d had a pretty trying afternoon already. “I’ll practice and get better.”</p>
<p>“Good,” Katsuki said, “Come on, I want to go home. I’m pretty sure I’m covered in someone else’s body goop. I want a shower.”</p>
<p>Of course, getting away wasn’t as easy as walking off like All Might, but after talking to heroes and police and getting a minor scolding for running in after Katsuki, they were both able to head home. Izuku walked Katsuki home first and then headed, by himself, to his own house.</p>
<p>He was almost there when a somewhat familiar figure stepped out and stopped him.</p>
<p>It was All Might in his skeleton form.</p>
<p>When he made his offer to Izuku, he accepted it immediately.</p>
<p>The swearing into secrecy was a little harder for him. He and Katsuki had no secrets from each other. Not telling him about All Might, about the quirk he was going to get, that would be hard.</p>
<p>But if it meant that he could save people- could save Katsuki again if he had to- he’d do it.</p>
<p>He just wanted to be the best hero that he could be.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>About a month into All Might’s training program for Izuku, he started to notice Katsuki giving him strange looks. He had changed his diet and now went for runs in the morning and All Might had him working on the smaller pieces of trash on the beach to build his strength up, so he had changed a lot of things all at once and, of course, Katsuki noticed that. He showed that notice by fussing over Izuku getting enough sleep and making sure his schoolwork got done- even doing it for Izuku a couple of times because Izuku didn’t have time. Izuku’s grades slipped a little bit, but he managed to bring them back up with Katsuki’s help.</p>
<p>The weird looks eased up a bit when Katsuki saw him getting stronger and when All Might let Izuku have Katsuki come run with him sometimes. Katsuki liked to know things and liked to be included and Izuku <em>really </em>wanted to tell him everything but promised he wouldn’t. </p>
<p>Three months into the training, Izuku was showing some serious new strength and Katsuki started getting, well, very suspicious. </p>
<p>Izuku had to start avoiding Katsuki when he headed out to the beach. He took most of his runs with Katsuki these days, but at the beach, All Might was there watching over him- making sure he didn’t get hurt while he trained. And he wasn’t in his big form, because that got too much attention, he was mostly a skeleton man in a big coat.</p>
<p>Izuku knew Katsuki. He was suspicious of everyone. He knew that Katsuki, upon seeing All Might in his deflated form would poke at this new information and dig up everything until he found the answer he was looking for. Whether or not that would be the right answer was still up for debate.</p>
<p>(Izuku did not want to think about all the times that Katsuki had kept him up till three in the morning during a sleepover debating aliens with him. At this point, he just agreed with Katsuki about aliens. It wasn’t like he really knew anything but what Katsuki had told him anyway.)</p>
<p>Izuku kept trying to bring it up to All Might. He kept trying to find the right moment or the right words or at the very least give him a warning. Izuku <em>knew </em>Katsuki. They’d been friends for as long as he could remember. Katsuki had taught him how to read and how to speak different languages and how to punch properly so he didn’t hurt his thumb and pretty much all of the math that he knew and, well, lots of other random little things too; Katsuki was a genius and he made sure that Izuku’s brain was so stuffed with information that, at first glance to others, it looked like Izuku was a genius too.</p>
<p>It was right at the end of the fourth month of training that Izuku, having dodged Katsuki on his way to the beach, arrived there, breathless and with mixed feelings about ditching Katsuki and hiding things from him, only to find Katsuki standing there already. He had his arms folded across his chest and he was in the biggest mostly-empty spot on the beach that Izuku had made.</p>
<p>All Might wasn’t there, yet, but it was only a matter of time. </p>
<p>“So this is where you’ve been going,” Katsuki said, staring at Izuku like he was a student skipping class. Izuku never skipped class, but he knew that look because <em> Katsuki </em>skipped all the time and teachers were always after him about his delinquent behavior. </p>
<p>“Uh,” Izuku said, “Yes?”</p>
<p>“And you’re moving all this trash out of here? Is that what you’ve been doing?”</p>
<p>“Yes?” </p>
<p>“Izuku,” Katsuki huffed.</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“Are you doing this to get into UA?” Katsuki asked, “Is this how you’re training yourself?”</p>
<p><em> He doesn’t think I have a trainer, </em> Izuku felt both relieved and terrible about that. He <em>hated </em>lying to Katsuki. “Yes,” he said, more certainly this time, “It is.”</p>
<p>“I can’t believe this is actually working,” Katsuki looked around at the trash. “It’s the kind of nonsense training that <em> he’d </em>have given, though, so I guess…” He turned back to Izuku, his frown still in place, “Are you really training yourself?”</p>
<p>“I’m training by myself,” Izuku said, which was technically true. No one was training <em>with </em>him. But someone was training him. </p>
<p>Of course, Katsuki just stared at him then, one eyebrow slowly lifting. Izuku should’ve known better. That kind of wordplay was something he’d learned from Katsuki. </p>
<p>He wasn’t at all surprised when Katsuki switched into Italian. He always did that when he thought they might be overheard and he wanted to talk privately to Izuku. <em> “Who is it?” </em></p>
<p><em> “I can’t tell you,” </em>Izuku said, looking down at his feet.</p>
<p>He just registered the sound of footsteps on sand when suddenly Katsuki was there, in his face. <em> “Are they hurting you? Are they making you do things you’re not comfortable with? Who is it, Izuku? Why are you hiding this from me? You know I want you to be a hero, I support you doing that. So why lie to me?” </em></p>
<p><em> “I can’t tell you who it is,” </em> Izuku shook his head, <em> “I promised them. And they’re not doing anything bad- I’m just- I have to protect their identity and their secret. I don’t want to lie to you, I swear. I hate keeping this secret from you! You know I would never keep any secrets from you but I can’t tell you. I really can’t.”  </em></p>
<p><em> “So it’s a hero,” </em> Katsuki leaned back a little, looking thoughtful. <em> “A hero with a secret. Is it to do with their quirk? Their appearance? Their position? Maybe they’re an underground hero?” </em>Izuku knew he was talking to himself so he didn’t say anything. He just fidgeted in place and looked around. He really hoped All Might would notice Katsuki was here before he announced himself. He didn’t want to accidentally out him.</p>
<p>“Kacchan,” Izuku said quietly when Katsuki hadn’t moved away and just muttered to himself for a while, “Kacchan, please. Can you leave? I need to train and- and they won’t show up unless I’m alone.”</p>
<p>Katsuki gave him a sharp look, “They are <em>real </em>right? You’re not hallucinating a trainer, are you?” Then his eyes narrowed and he asked a very odd question, “This trainer doesn’t happen to look like a three to five year old baby in a black suit with a hat and a chameleon and is telling you that you’re the next leader to a secret mafia family, right?”</p>
<p>Izuku’s thoughts entirely derailed as he envisioned such a baby. He blinked dumbly at Katsuki. Where did <em>that </em>come from? It sounded like something from a manga. “What?”</p>
<p>“No? Good. If you ever meet a baby like that, run away.”</p>
<p>“Okay?” </p>
<p>Katsuki clapped his hands on Izuku’s shoulders. He gave him his Serious Look, which made Izuku’s confusion evaporate like water under the heat of the sun in summer. “I’ll respect your secret, Izuku. We all have our secrets, after all. It’s part of growing up. I hope you can tell me one day, but I understand if you can’t. Some things just can’t really be shared.”</p>
<p>Izuku had a sudden, sinking feeling that Katsuki had a secret that he’d never told Izuku. He’d never realized but… there had to be one. <em> We all have our secrets, after all. </em>Why would he say that if he didn’t have a secret?</p>
<p>“I won’t bug you about your training and I won’t follow you around anymore, either. We can spend time together at school still and when we do homework and stuff. It’ll… It’ll be good practice for when we’re in high school and we can’t see each other all the time, right?” Katsuki’s gaze softened, “We have different paths to take so we have to learn how to support each other from a distance.” </p>
<p>Izuku nodded. He was right, of course. They were both trying to go to the same school, at least, but only Izuku was going into the heroics course. “Thank you, Kacchan. I’m- I’m sorry I can’t tell you. I really want to, I do, but-”</p>
<p>“You have to be able to keep your own secrets and the secrets that people give to you,” Katsuki said solemnly. “I understand. I really do. Don’t ever tell your secrets to anyone you don’t trust one hundred percent and don’t <em> ever </em>tell anyone else’s secret without their permission. That’s the only way that you can really show you’re trusted. That’s the only way you can really prove yourself as truly loyal.” He looked down and away after he said those words, his mouth curling downwards as if they left a bitter taste in his mouth. </p>
<p>“Kacchan?” Izuku whispered. He had that weird look on his face, the one that made him look older than he was. “Do you have a secret too?”</p>
<p>Katsuki took in a deep breath. He pulled his hands off of Izuku’s shoulders and let them fall to his sides. He met Izuku’s gaze and said, “I do.”</p>
<p>“Will you ever tell me your secret?”</p>
<p>There was another pause here, longer than before. “I might.”</p>
<p>Izuku clenched his hand into a tight fist, pressing it over his heart, “Then I’ll keep my secret and- and show you that you can trust me. You can trust me with your secret too, eventually. If you want to.”</p>
<p>Katsuki’s eyes widened. For the first time ever, Izuku saw tears welling up in them. This freaked him out so badly that he didn’t know what to say or do. Should he apologize? Should he try to comfort him? Should he-</p>
<p>Katsuki rubbed at his eyes as the tears spilled over. He gave a wet sort of laugh and muttered to himself in Italian, <em> “I always get stuck with the gentlest sky. I don’t deserve this.” </em></p>
<p>Izuku opened his mouth to say that he <em>did </em>deserve it, he did, but he didn’t know what “it” was. He didn’t understand what Katsuki meant by a gentle sky. But he did have a feeling Katsuki had said something like this before; he just couldn’t remember when or where or why. </p>
<p>Instead of saying anything, he closed his mouth and stepped forward. He hugged Katsuki tightly around the middle, making all his breath leave him in a rush. Then he lifted Katsuki a little bit, squeezing him to show him how much he cared, and to distract him from his tears. Katsuki yelped, “Izuku! What are you doing?”</p>
<p>“You’re my best friend in the whole world!” Izuku shouted, “And I love you so much, Kacchan, but I have to clear off the beach because my teacher said so, and you’re! On! The! Beach!” He turned and started carrying Katsuki off the beach.</p>
<p>Katsuki laughed and flailed a bit, but not enough to actually get free or hit Izuku. He was still laughing when Izuku set him down near the street. They grinned at each other and then Katsuki reached up and pinched his cheek gently. </p>
<p>“You get big and buff, Izuku,” Katsuki said, “And then you can carry me around everywhere. I’m tired of walking.”</p>
<p>“You can be my jetpack,” Izuku said with a grin. “We’ll be a crime-fighting duo!” </p>
<p>Katsuki laughed, “In your dreams, Izuku!” He let go of his cheek, still smiling, “I’ll go now. You train hard. Remember what I said about babies.”</p>
<p>“Don’t trust babies in suits, got it,” Izuku said. He saluted Katsuki, stifling his giggles. </p>
<p>Katsuki left, waving a little bit before he fully turned and walked away. Izuku’s heart felt so much lighter, relieved that Katsuki was happy, relieved that he hadn’t told the secret but that Katsuki wasn’t worried about him anymore. </p>
<p>When he turned back to the beach, there was All Might, waiting for him with a smile and a word of praise. Izuku, determined to do his very best, hurried over to start training.</p>
<p>“You’ve got a good friend there, Izuku,” All Might said to him. “And one day, this secret of mine will be one that you can tell him. Just… not yet.”</p>
<p>Izuku beamed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Realization</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few weeks or so after starting classes at UA, Izuku was bundling up his stuff into his bag and getting ready to leave the classroom for lunch when Kirishima bounced over to his desk. “Hey, Midoriya! Are you joining us for lunch today?”</p>
<p>Izuku blinked and nervously shook his head automatically. Kirishima’s bright smile dimmed a little bit and he added quickly, “Sorry Kirishima, not today. Thank you for inviting me though!” He ducked his head a little bit, picking up his bag quickly. He hurried off before Kirishima could keep asking him, excusing himself quickly.</p>
<p>Behind him, he heard as Kaminari said, “I don’t know why you keep asking, man, he’s never going to join us.”</p>
<p>“Well, I just figured I’d ask,” Kirishima said back, “After all, he might change his mind and-” his voice cut off as Izuku stepped into the hallway, ears burning at being talked about so openly. </p>
<p>It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to that, though. The kids in middle school had talked about him like he wasn’t there too- though they were quieter about it. Back then, he’d had Katsuki in the same class, after all. People didn’t shit talk him when Katsuki was around. Not that his classmates here talked badly about him, but even benign whispering was enough to make him nervous.</p>
<p>He sighed heavily as he hurried down the hallway. High school was both wonderful and gave him the <em>worst </em>anxiety. He did pretty well with the basic classes; his English was the best in class and he could do calculus in his sleep at this point so this early algebra stuff was a walk in the park. He had a harder time with history and heroics work, but he wasn’t really struggling. No, the anxiety came from his actual classmates.</p>
<p>They were nice to him, which was great! But he didn’t know how to respond to it because it was the first time a whole class was that way. When he’d been quirkless… Well, things had been different.</p>
<p>He felt bad when he ducked out to hurry off to lunch or didn’t loiter behind after class, except when he had cleaning duties. He just wasn’t used to people calling out to him or trying to talk to him, especially <em>during </em>class. He was already dreading the inevitable group project that would put him partnered up with some of his classmates. How was he going to <em>talk </em>to them? Especially if they were a <em> girl?  </em></p>
<p>He’d already fallen totally flat on his face in front of Uraraka once! Well, almost anyway. She’d caught him from falling with her quirk and somehow that was both really cool and horribly awkward at the same time.</p>
<p>His feet took him down to the lunchroom and to the lunch counters. He picked up a tray for himself and then headed over to the table that Katsuki had taken over as his. A few of his own classmates were there, including this one tall kid with a totally dead-eyed stare, but they were all spaced apart from each other. Izuku felt a flood of relief when he approached the table and Katsuki blinked, looked up, and smiled at him.</p>
<p>“Hey, Kacchan!” Izuku said cheerfully, putting down his tray and sitting across from him. </p>
<p>“Hey, Izuku,” Katsuki said, “How’s class with the idiots?”</p>
<p>“Kacchan,” Izuku scolded, “Don’t call them idiots! And it’s fine! They’re very nice.”</p>
<p>Katsuki rolled his eyes. He always called them idiots, though, but not because they were actually dumb or anything. Katsuki just didn’t think being a hero was a smart move. Izuku couldn’t totally wrap his head around it, but he sort of understood it. Katsuki, despite how selfless he could be towards Izuku, didn’t feel that way about other people. He wasn’t the kind of guy who would run into danger to save a stranger. </p>
<p>Then Katsuki asked about his classes -he had always been keen on Izuku’s education since they were very little, after all- and Izuku eagerly launched into a discussion about that morning’s history lesson. He got into it, like he always did, gesturing with one hand, stopping only to hurriedly eat a bite or two of food while Katsuki commented or asked a question, and then he’d continue on again. He could feel that the few other students at the table were watching him talk to Katsuki, but they didn’t interrupt or anything so he felt it was okay to ignore them. It wasn’t like they were right next to Izuku or Katsuki, after all.</p>
<p>They were mostly through lunch, Katsuki having finished eating, and Izuku who had started to gesture with his bun and had yet to bite into it, when someone approached their desk. </p>
<p>It was Uraraka, smiling brightly at them.</p>
<p>Izuku broke off mid-sentence, his words becoming strangled in his throat at the sight of her. He abruptly flushed, stammered, and fell silent.</p>
<p>Katsuki, who had been listening with his cheek in his palm, lifted his head up and turned to look at her. </p>
<p>“Hi, Midoriya!” Uraraka said as if she hadn’t just pinned Izuku’s tongue to the roof of his mouth in surprise, “Is this your friend here?”</p>
<p>Katsuki snorted. “No,” he said sarcastically, “I haven’t seen this kid before in my damn life.”</p>
<p>“Eh?” She blinked in surprise.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” Katsuki asked before Izuku could unstick his tongue or Uraraka could ask any other questions.</p>
<p>“I’m Uraraka, from class 1-A, like Midoriya! Who are you?”</p>
<p>“Bakugou,” Katsuki said and reached up to tap his own shoulder where his jacket showed his school placement, “General studies.” He looked her over a little more critically and then looked to Izuku and asked, switching to Italian because <em>of course, he would, “Is this the floaty quirk girl? She’s cute.” </em></p>
<p>“Kacchan!” Izuku spluttered. </p>
<p>“Eh?” Uraraka said again, “What was that?” She looked suspiciously at Katsuki, her smile fading a little bit. “What did he say, Midoriya?”</p>
<p>Katsuki, the absolute bully that he was, grinned at Izuku, “What <em> did </em> I say, Izuku?”</p>
<p>“I- It was nothing!” Izuku put up his hands defensively, “He didn’t say anything.” He laughed nervously, “Don’t worry about it!”</p>
<p>“I’m not deaf, Midoriya,” Uraraka said, “Besides, I think he was talking about me.” She turned her stare on Katsuki, “You were talking about me, weren’t you?”</p>
<p>“That’s a bit self-centered, don’t you think?” Katsuki said, putting his chin back in his palm again. Izuku could not understand how relaxed he could be about this! Uraraka was a girl and she was just talking to them! That never happened! Izuku was sure the ground would open up and swallow him forever. But Katsuki? Oh no. He never got ruffled about <em>anything. </em>It just wasn’t fair.</p>
<p>Uraraka blushed in embarrassment, “W-well, if you don’t want people to make assumptions, you shouldn’t talk in a language they don’t understand!”</p>
<p>Katsuki smiled at her, but his eyes moved to Izuku. Izuku felt his stomach drop before Katsuki opened his mouth. </p>
<p>
  <em> “She’s one of your friends in class, isn’t she?”  </em>
</p>
<p>“Kacchan,” Izuku lowered his voice, pleading but really trying not to, “It’s not like that.”</p>
<p>
  <em> “What? Are you not friends? Is she causing you trouble?”  </em>
</p>
<p>“No no, she’s not,” Izuku said and then winced because Uraraka whirled on him.</p>
<p>“You two <em>are </em>talking about me!” she declared.</p>
<p>“It’s not anything bad!” Izuku said defensively, “I swear! Kacchan’s just asking if we’re friends!?”</p>
<p>“Well, are you?” Katsuki asked. </p>
<p>“I don’t know?” Izuku replied.</p>
<p>At the same time, Uraraka said, “Of course we are!”</p>
<p>They then stared at each other. Katsuki laughed. Izuku, red-faced, stuck his bun in his mouth and bit down so he wouldn’t say anything else dumb. Uraraka blinked a few times and then said, “At least I thought we were friends?”</p>
<p>“You are,” Katsuki said, still smiling, “Don’t mind him looking like that. We didn’t have a lot of friends in middle school besides each other. He’s just nervous.”</p>
<p>Izuku stared down at his tray and shoved more of his bun in his mouth. </p>
<p>“Oh,” Uraraka said quietly, “Um. So you two are childhood friends?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Katsuki said, “Since we were kids,” and then his smile changed to one made mostly of teeth and he said, “If you or your classmates make trouble for him, you’ll have to answer to me, okay?”</p>
<p>Izuku choked on the food he was now hurriedly trying to chew and swallow. He frantically waved his hands, trying to stop Katsuki from talking. <em> Kacchan, what are you saying!?  </em></p>
<p>Uraraka leaned back a little bit, clearly startled by the smiling threat. “Excuse me?”</p>
<p>Katsuki continued to smile, looking just as relaxed as before, “Izuku is the most important person in my life. If you or your classmates give him trouble, I will make <em> absolutely sure </em>that they regret it. Okay?”</p>
<p>Izuku swallowed the lump of the bun, eyes watering at the pain, and he hurriedly put his hands out to try and diffuse the tension, “Don’t mind him, Uraraka, Kacchan can be, um, really protective? I used to be, um, bullied a lot and he would take care of the bullies! It’s not serious. He wouldn’t actually do anything to hurt anyone.”</p>
<p>“I would,” Katsuki said, still smiling, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Izuku. So please keep that in mind.”</p>
<p>Izuku laughed weakly, nervously, and dropped his hands. “Kacchan, you’re freaking her out.”</p>
<p>Uraraka had taken a few steps away from Katsuki, looking a little wide-eyed and pale. She had one hand as a fist at her chest level and she swallowed visibly, “Uh.” She looked frantically at Izuku, “Um.”</p>
<p>Izuku looked apologetically at her, “Sorry, he’s just very protective?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” she said, “Um. I’m gonna go now. Bye Midoriya!” She hurriedly turned and rushed off. Izuku watched her go and then sighed heavily. He turned and scowled at Katsuki.</p>
<p><em> “Why did you have to go and say that to her?” </em> Izuku demanded, leaning in and speaking in Italian so that the others at the table couldn’t understand even if they could overhear. <em> “Now she’s totally freaked out! She’s probably never going to talk to me again.”  </em></p>
<p><em> “If she doesn’t then she’s not worth it,” </em> Katsuki replied, <em> “And if she sticks it out, then you know you can rely on her.”  </em></p>
<p>Izuku narrowed his eyes and then hissed, <em> “Are you saying that that was some sort of friendship test?”  </em></p>
<p><em> “Tell me, would you rather be surrounded by a flock of people who would abandon you at the first sign of hardship? Or would you like a handful that, when push came to shove, they stood back to back and shoulder to shoulder with you?” </em>Katsuki’s smile was gone, but his posture hadn’t changed. He had a shadow of that serious look on his face and Izuku felt a cold lump forming in his stomach. </p>
<p><em> “Not everyone around me has to be that close of a friend,” </em> Izuku said after a moment. He relaxed his own posture, sitting back somewhat and sighing, <em> “Not everyone will be like you to me. I don’t want them all to be that close to me. That’s too much.”  </em></p>
<p>Katsuki reached out and pinched his cheek. Izuku saw it coming- he always saw it coming, really- and didn’t move out of the way. It never hurt when Katsuki pinched and he took it as a sign of his affection. Katsuki smiled at him, <em> “Don’t worry about what I said too much, I know when to step in and when to let you deal with it. Besides, you have your new quirk now, right? You can do more to protect yourself. Just don’t lie to me if they give you trouble and you can’t handle it anymore, okay?”  </em></p>
<p>Izuku nodded and picked up his bun again. He tore off a chunk and mumbled, <em> “Am I really the most important person to you?”  </em></p>
<p><em> “Yes,” </em> Katsuki said honestly, even though Izuku sort of expected him to be sarcastic. <em> “You’re my sky. I’d do anything for you.”  </em></p>
<p>Izuku looked at him. He ate the piece of bun he tore and frowned really hard, thinking about that. <em> “What does that mean?” </em> he asked, <em> “You’ve called me that before. What do you mean I’m your sky?”  </em></p>
<p>For the first time during their conversation, Katsuki’s eyes slid off of him. <em> “I’ll tell you when you’re older,” </em> he said, <em> “After you graduate, probably. Don’t worry about it until then.”  </em></p>
<p>Izuku had the feeling that this sky business had something to do with the secret Katsuki told him he had but hadn’t said what it was. He fidgeted with his food a little bit and then nodded. He wanted to know <em>now. </em>But at least he’d get to know eventually. That would have to be good enough.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>That same afternoon, Izuku was quietly reading his textbook for history class when Kirishima leaned over the aisle between their desks and asked, “Hey, Midoriya? Can I ask you something?”</p>
<p>“Mhm?” Izuku replied without looking up. He could read and sort of talk at the same time if it wasn’t too serious a question and Kirishima usually just asked about math questions, which Izuku had no trouble with. </p>
<p>“Did your boyfriend really threaten Uraraka so she wouldn’t bother you?”</p>
<p>Izuku froze. Very slowly, he lifted his head up and stared at Kirishima. Kirishima looked absolutely serious. There wasn’t even a <em> hint </em>of a joke in his eyes. </p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>Kirishima leaned closer and lowered his voice even more, which made the hair stand the back of Izuku’s neck. Especially when he gave a shifty glance back and forth, “At lunch. I heard she went over to talk to you and you were sitting with your boyfriend and he said not to talk to you. Is that true? Are we supposed to leave you alone or something?”</p>
<p>Izuku swore. He did it in Italian, of course, because that’s how Katsuki taught him. He closed his eyes and picked his book up, covering his face as he swore under his breath, going through most of Katsuki’s favorites and a few of his own before Kirishima cleared his throat and Izuku had to look at him again.</p>
<p>“Uh,” Kirishima looked nervously around, “If you’re keeping your relationship on the down-low, I won’t say anything, I mean, most of the class already knows but-”</p>
<p>“Most of the class?” Izuku whispered. “Are you <em> kidding me?”  </em></p>
<p>Kirishima shook his head. </p>
<p>Izuku looked around. Several heads very quickly turned and looked away from him, but some didn’t. Jirou didn’t, just cocked an eyebrow at him. He couldn’t tell with Hagakure. Ashido just ducked her head behind her own book, her eyes still totally visible. Todoroki, in the back corner, watched with the same aloof disinterest that he showed everything, his arms folded over his chest and his eyes half-open. Leaning back towards Kirishima he said, “It’s <em>not </em>like that with Kacchan. It really isn’t.”</p>
<p>“But I heard that he said you were the most important person <em>in the whole world </em>to him. Isn’t that usually the person you’re dating, though?”</p>
<p>“It’s not like that with us!” Izuku said hurriedly, “I mean, we’re just friends!”</p>
<p>This, for some reason, made Kirishima look sad, “Oh man,” he said quietly, “So it’s one-sided? He loves you but you don’t love him?”</p>
<p>“He doesn’t <em>love </em>me like you mean,” Izuku said, “He’s just very protective and, and we’re very close, true, and we’ve known each other since we were three! He taught me how to read and stuff, and we were in basically every class together until now and, okay, we’ve spent a lot of time together but I would <em>know </em>if Kacchan were in love with me! He’s not in love with me. He’s just my best friend!” </p>
<p><em> “Dude,” </em> Kirishima said emphatically, “Are you sure? Like. Are you <em> really </em>sure?”</p>
<p>Izuku stared at him. “Why wouldn’t he say so if he was? We don’t-” <em> keep secrets from each other. </em>But he couldn’t say that because it wasn’t true, was it? They did have their own secrets.</p>
<p>Izuku felt his book slip from his fingers and land with a thump on his desk. Katsuki was always so tactile- pinching his cheek or sitting close to him. He had that weird thing he’d called Izuku a couple times now, <em> a gentle sky</em>, and that could be a term of endearment, couldn’t it be? And lots of people waited until the end of high school to confess their love, didn’t they? And Katsuki had said he’d wait until then to tell Izuku his secret when he was <em>older. </em>And Katsuki always felt a little older, more mature, than Izuku did- He’d totally wait until Izuku was older to confess to him because Izuku would get so distracted and not know what to do with himself and-</p>
<p>“Oh no,” Izuku whispered. “Oh <em> no.”  </em></p>
<p>
  <em> Katsuki was in love with him. </em>
</p>
<p>“How did I not notice?” Izuku whispered to himself, “How did I not see that? Oh no. <em> Oh no.”  </em></p>
<p>“So you two aren’t dating?” Kirishima asked.</p>
<p>“I- I really care about Kacchan,” Izuku said, mostly to himself, “I mean, he’s my best friend. I’d do so much for him and he’s helped me with so much and he’s been there my whole life. But I don’t- I don’t love him like <em>that. </em> He’s my <em>best friend. </em> But I don’t- I don’t feel like that for him.”</p>
<p><em> “Dude,” </em>Kirishima said gently, “That really sucks for you two.”</p>
<p>Izuku felt tears begin to well in his eyes and he hurriedly blinked. He didn’t want to cry. <em> He didn’t want to cry. </em>He had promised himself he was done crying over dumb things! He was in high school now! He was going to be a hero! He couldn’t get weepy over every little thing-</p>
<p>“I’m gonna have to tell him no and it’s gonna break his heart,” Izuku mumbled, “He’s gonna hate me forever. After everything he did for me because he loves me, he’s gonna hate me <em> forever.” </em></p>
<p>“He probably won’t hate you forever,” Kirishima said. He reached over and awkwardly pat Izuku on the shoulder, “Um. I mean. Maybe he will? I don’t know the guy but, if he loves you he probably won’t?”</p>
<p>Izuku picked up his book again and stuck his face in the middle of it. He put his head down on his desk because he was <em>absolutely crying </em>and he didn’t want to be seen. Kirishima gave him another pat on the shoulder and then pulled back, mumbling an apology. Izuku couldn’t respond. He didn’t have any space inside to be upset with Kirishima because it wasn’t like this was his fault, was it? Izuku was the one who was blind and dumb and would have to tell Katsuki <em>no.  </em></p>
<p><em> Maybe I can just say yes and I’ll learn to get over it, </em> Izuku thought frantically to himself, <em> I can learn anything and Kacchan can teach me and- </em> he shuddered at the thought, though. Pretending to love someone? That would be <em>terrible. </em> He’d hate <em>himself </em>if he did that. And pretending to love Katsuki? He might as well just stop trying to be a hero if he’d do something so terrible to his own best friend. </p>
<p>Even with his face as hidden as it was, Izuku felt like everyone could hear him crying. It wasn’t very loud in the classroom and he wasn’t as quiet as he wished he was, but he couldn’t stop. He was just <em>terrible.  </em></p>
<p>He struggled to breathe, struggled to calm down, and felt like everyone was just watching him, which made it even harder to try and calm down. He should just get up and leave but he’d stumble so badly, he couldn’t see beyond his tears and then everyone would see his face and-</p>
<p>A cold hand touched the back of his neck and Izuku yelped, jolting in his seat in shock at the touch. Startled out of his sobbing for the moment, he looked up in shock to see Todoroki standing beside his desk, lifting his right hand. Izuku locked up, staring at him. </p>
<p>Todoroki didn’t talk to anyone. He didn’t pay attention to anyone. He didn’t interact with anyone beyond what the teachers made him do. He seemed so far above the class. He had two quirks, the best grades, a face that all the girls sighed over, and such a distant attitude that no one could touch him. </p>
<p>And here he stood, next to Izuku’s desk, looking at him. </p>
<p>“Stop crying,” Todoroki said, his voice was as cold as his hand had been. “It’s annoying.”</p>
<p>Izuku felt his face turn very hot and then very cold from the shift of shame to deep embarrassment. “S-sorry,” he hiccuped, “I didn’t- m-mean t-to-”</p>
<p>“I don’t care if you’re sorry or not,” Todoroki said with a sigh, “I <em> really </em>don’t. But it’s pathetic to watch and annoying to listen to so just stop doing it.”</p>
<p>Izuku opened his mouth to say that he <em>couldn’t </em>but found that the tears <em>had </em>stopped. He had the hiccups but that wasn’t nearly as bad. He just nodded, feeling kind of strange and numb.</p>
<p>Todoroki stared at him for a moment longer, his heterochromatic eyes searching Izuku’s face, narrowing slightly. Whatever he found, though, just made him frown slightly and shake his head. “Want some advice, kid?” </p>
<p>Izuku blinked. <em> Kid? Does he not even know my name? </em>“Uh. Sure?”</p>
<p>“The sooner you turn him down, the better off you’ll both be. Don’t keep your mouth shut because you don’t want to hurt their feelings. They’ll just end up doing something stupid to get your attention, get themselves in trouble, and die. Then you’ll have lost them forever. And if they matter to you at all, <em> that </em>will be far worse a feeling than what you’re feeling right now.” </p>
<p>Izuku’s heart lurched in his chest at the thought of Katsuki <em>dying. </em>The tears filled his eyes again, running silently down his cheeks. “Wh-what?”</p>
<p>Todoroki just lifted his chin slightly and looked at him. He wasn’t giving an evil little smile and had no glint in his eye to say that he was joking. He looked deadly serious. “I mean it,” he said, “Just talk to him. Be honest with him. Life is too short to waste with bullshit.”</p>
<p>With that said, Todoroki turned away from Izuku’s desk and walked away. Izuku stared after him, gaping, shocked by the whole exchange. Todoroki just sat back down at his desk and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest and looking for all the world like he was going to nap.</p>
<p>Feeling dazed, Izuku turned and looked at Kirishima.</p>
<p>Kirishima met his gaze, winced, and said apologetically, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, um.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” Izuku mumbled. “I’m… I was gonna have to deal with it eventually. Maybe Todoroki is right. Maybe I should just do it right away.”</p>
<p>“Um,” Kirishima said. He rubbed at the back of his head and said, “If you don’t want to go alone, uh, I could go with you? I mean I don’t think your friend is gonna do anything but like, as moral support?”</p>
<p>Izuku bit his lip and then shook his head. “No. No, I need to do this alone. Kacchan… he’s a very private person. He’ll be honest with me if I ask, though. He might not want to talk if someone else is there. And he won’t do anything bad to me, he- He wouldn’t hurt me or anything.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Kirishima said, “If you’re sure.”</p>
<p>Izuku smiled at him, “Thank you, Kirishima. I appreciate it.”</p>
<p>Kirishima blinked a few times and then gave him a thumbs-up, “Sure thing, Midoriya! What are friends for?”</p>
<p>Izuku wiped at his face with his hand, sniffling, but feeling a little better. </p>
<p>Not entirely better, but at least a little bit.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Flip Side</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Having grown up with Katsuki, Izuku was aware of most of his traits and habits. His mother sometimes called the things Katsuki did his ‘compulsions’ and she always took these sorts of things into account for Katsuki. She knew about them too, since she’d tended him for years when he was a child and Katsuki had always been like this.</p><p>One of these traits of his was punctuality. Katsuki and Izuku met up in the morning to walk to school. They had done so since the very beginning of their school years. The time in the morning changed depending on when they needed to get to class but not by much. There was always enough time to walk or take transit to school with five minutes to get to class and ten or so minutes to get ready while in the classroom.</p><p>This meant that Izuku knew exactly when Katsuki would be heading over to his house in the morning. Which meant that he knew exactly how much earlier he needed to get up, get dressed and ready and leave before Katsuki showed up. </p><p>It wasn’t the best solution to his current problem- after all, Katsuki would catch on after just a day of this- but Izuku needed as much time as he could get to figure out what he was going to say to him. How does one approach their childhood best friend about something like this? He didn’t want to hurt Katsuki’s feelings but that was unavoidable, wasn’t it?</p><p>Sitting alone in the classroom, his head on his desk, Izuku considered his options. Well, he meant to be considering his options, but really he was just thinking about how terrible all of this was. The worst part was that Katsuki was going to end up hurt no matter what Izuku did. Even avoiding him was going to hurt him, but Izuku couldn’t face him. Not yet anyway. He would talk to him. Eventually. He really, really would! But not yet.</p><p>Somehow, Izuku felt like he was letting Todoroki down, which was the strange cherry of a feeling on top of this sundae of misery and guilt. Todoroki was going to know he hadn’t said anything, Izuku was sure, and he was going to look at him in <em> disappointment.  </em></p><p>Izuku closed his eyes and sighed heavily.</p><p>He lay there on his desk as everyone else in class slowly showed up. Every time the door opened, his heart lurched a little bit. He was convinced Katsuki would show up and demand to know why Izuku ditched him this morning. He was sure Katsuki would be angry about being avoided. He hated it when Izuku broke habitual behavior like this. </p><p><em> Everything about this is terrible, </em>Izuku thought.</p><p>Katsuki didn’t show up that morning, though. And when lunch came around, Izuku finally accepted Kirishima’s invitation and ate with him and the others at a packed table across the room from where Katsuki usually sat. At every distant shout or bang, Izuku jumped. He was so sure Katsuki would just walk over at any moment he could barely stomach his lunch. </p><p>The others were sympathetic to him, telling him it would be okay, but he caught Todoroki looking at him and it wasn’t even disappointment in his eyes. It was <em>disdain.  </em></p><p>Izuku avoided looking at Todoroki for the rest of the day.</p><p>After school, Izuku was nervous and fidgeting. He felt like a wreck. He fumbled his books into his bag. He couldn’t remember anything that the teachers had said in the last hour of class because he’d realized about then that he was going to have to walk home. Not only that, but he was also going to leave his class at the same time Katsuki left his and he was <em>sure </em> Katsuki would be waiting for him at the gate like he always did-</p><p>Izuku had put his head in his hands when class was finally dismissed. This was it? Wasn’t it? This was the moment of the confrontation. It had to be. </p><p>Kirishima had given him a pat on the back and a thumbs up for good luck. Izuku didn’t want luck. He just wanted to go back three days when this wasn’t even a glimmer on the horizon. Not that that would really work out anyway, would it? It was just putting off the inevitable.</p><p>Dread pulled Izuku slowly through the hallway, down the stairs, and out the front door. He moved with a medium-sized group of other kids towards the gates. Some of them were his classmates, there for moral support he figured, and also just because they had to leave.</p><p>But there was no one at the gate waiting for him.</p><p>Izuku stood there for a long, long minute, staring at the blank spot where Katsuki usually stood and waited for him. </p><p>He only moved when he got bumped into by someone who wasn’t really paying attention as they walked and then he just began to stagger forward, too shocked to do anything else.</p><p>Katsuki hadn’t been there waiting for him.</p><p>
  <em> What does that even mean!? </em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Earlier that morning...</strong> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Inko opened the front door with a bit of a worried smile. She was surprised to see Katsuki standing there in his UA uniform, bag on his shoulder.</p><p>“Good morning, Auntie” he said politely, “Is Izuku ready to go? Or is he staying home today?” He glanced past her, clearly looking for Izuku. Usually it was Izuku who answered the door. Usually Izuku was still home in order to do that.</p><p>“Good morning, Kacchan,” she said to him, “Actually, Izuku left early today. He said he had something to take care of and needed to get ready for it. Did he not tell you about it?” She had honestly assumed that they would both be going in early. After all, they did nearly everything together. But, then again, they were in two different courses. Perhaps Izuku had responsibilities for his course that Katsuki didn’t have?</p><p>“He left early,” Katsuki said flatly. </p><p>“That’s right. He left a note, in fact. He was already gone when I got up to make him breakfast.”</p><p>“Did he say anything specific about why? Or was it just <em> something?” </em></p><p>“Oh it was just something,” she said. “I’m sure it’s got to do with his heroics classwork if you don’t know about it, Kacchan.”</p><p>Katsuki looked at her in that special way that she knew meant he thought she was being a bit dim but he was too polite to say so. He sighed instead and bowed, “Thank you for telling me, Auntie. I’ll be heading off then.”</p><p>He turned and left. She wished him a good day and closed the door behind him.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Hitoshi watched from three seats down as Bakugou methodically worked through his lunch, not looking up from his tray, not saying a damn word. He’d seen Bakugou be quiet before, during quizzes or quite classwork, but this had a mood to it that he hadn’t seen before. Bakugou’s movements were sharp and efficient. He didn’t spare a single motion. He even sat up more straight than he usually did. He looked almost vaguely robotic in how he moved and ate. It was fascinating.</p><p>It was only the two of them at Bakugou’s table today. He’d already taken his seat when Bakugou showed up and brought an oppressive aura with him. No one else had dared join them. </p><p>Hitoshi had noticed that Bakugou was in a bad mood that morning. He was generally pretty short with their classmates, but this morning he was downright clipped. He also was generally polite to their teachers but this morning… </p><p>Hitoshi shook his head. Their mathematics teacher was new to teaching and sometimes made mistakes. They weren’t <em> really </em>obvious all the time. Hitoshi only caught on far after the fact, about when he was working on the homework and noticed the problem. Bakugou had just stood up in class, told them they were wrong and corrected them and then, still in Japanese, called him an idiot who should prepare better and sat down.</p><p>He’d gotten after school detention for it, of course, but he hadn’t even batted an eye at the punishment.</p><p>The strange thing to Hitoshi wasn’t that Bakugou corrected the teacher, he’d done that before. It was that he’d left the insult in Japanese. Hitoshi knew Bakugou was fluent in at least one other language. He suspected Bakugou swore in another language to avoid disciplinary actions. So why get caught this time?</p><p>Halfway through lunchtime, Bakugou was done eating. He just sat there with his hands on the table, staring at the empty spot in front of him.</p><p>“He’s not coming today, is he?” Hitoshi asked.</p><p>Bakugou didn’t so much as blink. “What do you think?” he asked in a light-hearted voice that made the hair on the back of Hitoshi’s neck prickle. </p><p>Hitoshi considered this. He had seen them arguing yesterday, but wasn’t sure exactly what was said. It had seemed to end all right, but he could be wrong. </p><p>What he was sure of, however, was what Bakugou had said to that girl. </p><p>“I think it bothered him that you threatened his friend more than he was letting on,” Hitoshi said after a while. “People don’t really like that kind of thing, you know. It comes across as very controlling.”</p><p>Bakugou closed his eyes. “That’s not it,” he muttered. “It can’t be that.”</p><p>“Well that’s what it looked like,” Hitoshi said. </p><p>Bakugou grunted. </p><p>Hitoshi shook his head. If he could tell that Midoriya was avoiding Bakugou by not eating lunch with him, he was sure that Bakugou could tell. </p><p>“Just apologize to him,” Hitoshi said, giving his mother’s eternal advice. </p><p>Bakugou shot him a sharp look, “It wouldn’t be a real apology.”</p><p>“So?” Hitoshi shrugged, “Just tone down your intensity a little bit. You don’t have to actually threaten people to make sure they treat him right. You look scary enough as it is.”</p><p>This made Bakugou smile a little bit. His posture relaxed the tiniest bit as he leaned his elbows on the table. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, looking at the empty spot again, “I’ve heard that one before.”</p><p>Hitoshi watched as Bakugou folded his arms and put his chin on top of them, resting on the table with a sigh. He looked like he’d said all he was going to say. That was fine with Hitoshi; he didn’t have anything else to say either.</p><p>He stood up, picking up his empty tray. Then, in a fit of generosity, he took Bakugou’s empty tray that had been pushed aside and he carried them both off. </p><p>Bakugou was obviously having a bad day. It was the least that Hitoshi could do to make it better.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Target: Lock On</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Izuku waded through two more days of guilt and anxiety and panic, avoiding Katsuki in the morning, sitting with his classmates at lunch, and being avoided in the afternoon before anything changed.</p>
<p>He didn’t necessarily feel <em>better </em>now that he’d done this for a few days, but he felt <em>stable </em>and that was a big plus. No one had directly asked him what happened but his classmates were being nicer to him than usual. He was worried they thought he’d already talked to Katsuki and things had turned out badly but he didn’t know how to correct them on that without admitting that he was so scared of losing his best friend because he couldn’t reciprocate his feelings that he hadn’t talked to said best friend since he’d found out about those feelings. He was pretty sure more than Todoroki would be disappointed in him.</p>
<p>He thought that Friday would end up as more of the same: avoidance, guilt, shame, anxiety, more avoidance, that sick feeling in his gut that made eating lunch almost impossible, grief, and more shame.</p>
<p>Katsuki hadn’t said anything to him in days. He hadn’t even <em>seen </em>Katsuki in days. </p>
<p>And then, after sitting down at the table with his classmates, Kirishima on one side, Iida on the other, no one in front of him, Katsuki was suddenly <em>there. </em></p>
<p>Izuku froze in reaching for his drink as Katsuki very purposefully set his tray down on the table in front of him. Silence spread across the table as Katsuki made himself comfortable, picking up his utensils and picking up the bowl on his tray. He wordlessly began to eat.</p>
<p>Izuku just stared at him.</p>
<p>Kirishima was the first one who spoke, “Uh. Hello?”</p>
<p>Katsuki looked at him. He continued to eat in silence. </p>
<p>There was a hiss of “That’s him!” from somewhere on the other side of Iida. It sounded like Uraraka.</p>
<p>Izuku realized then that none of his classmates had known what Katsuki looked like until now. None of them had even talked to Katsuki except for Uraraka. Katsuki was a general studies student, after all. And Izuku had never described him before. And they’d never walked together to his class, usually parting ways at the doors and-</p>
<p>“I’m Kirishima,” Kirishima said in his patiently cheerful voice. “You must be Kacchan.”</p>
<p>Izuku just about choked on his tongue. “Kirishima!” he hissed.  </p>
<p>Katsuki very slowly set down his bowl. “Not to you I’m not,” he said flatly, “My name is Bakugou.”</p>
<p>“Oh! Well! Nice to meet you, Bakugou!” Kirishima said nervously, glancing at Izuku. “Uh, well I said my name already. This is Ashido and Kaminari and Sero,” he said, pointing out the others around him. They waved at Katsuki. </p>
<p>Katsuki looked at them and nodded. </p>
<p>Ashido instantly leaned in, “I’ve heard a lot about you, Bakugou!” She said with a bright smile, “You’re Midoriya’s bo-”</p>
<p>“Ashido!” Izuku yelped to cover up her voice, “Don’t say nonsense! I haven’t talked that much about Kacchan!”</p>
<p>She gave him an annoyed look, “You’re not the only person who knows about Bakugou,” she said, “I’ve got friends in other classes! I’ve even got a friend in general studies too! She says Bakugou’s like a moody genius or something!”</p>
<p>“W-well Kacchan is pretty smart,” Izuku mumbled. </p>
<p>Kirishima leaned forward, “Didn’t you say that he taught you how to read?”</p>
<p>“Uh, he did, that’s true,” Izuku admitted. </p>
<p>“Children have brains like sponges,” Katsuki said as he picked through his food. Izuku still hadn’t been able to start eating yet. He was too nervous now. “And Izuku’s brain was particularly spongy when he was three.”</p>
<p>“Is...that a compliment or an insult?” Kaminari asked, “I can’t tell, dude.”</p>
<p>“He retained pretty much everything I taught him,” Katsuki said, “So it’s praise.”</p>
<p>“What other sorts of things did you teach Midoriya?” Iida asked curiously. </p>
<p>Katsuki’s eyes flicked to Izuku. Izuku immediately looked down at his tray. </p>
<p>“Apparently,” Katsuki said with a false light-heartedness that made Izuku tense up, “I didn’t teach him how to communicate his problems properly. How long were you planning on avoiding me, Izuku?”</p>
<p>Izuku’s head jerked up. Katsuki had said that in Japanese, hadn’t he? That meant everyone-</p>
<p>“You haven’t talked to him yet?” Kirishima whispered to him, looking surprised.</p>
<p>“I w-was just trying to figure out how to… Wh-what I wanted to say,” Izuku mumbled, hunching his shoulders. Katsuki was looking at him with a flat expression. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t disappointed. But he certainly wasn’t happy. </p>
<p>“Is this about me threatening Uraraka?” Katsuki asked, “Because I’m sorry if that crossed a line. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”</p>
<p>“So it’s true then?” Ashido piped up, “You told Uraraka not to talk to Midoriya or you’d break her fingers?”</p>
<p>“He didn’t say that!” Izuku exclaimed.</p>
<p>Katsuki rolled his eyes. “I’m never that specific, Ashido,” he said, “And I don’t care if they talk to each other. I simply said that anyone who causes Izuku trouble will have to answer to me.”</p>
<p>Uraraka leaned forward so she could talk around Iida, “I never said he was going to break my fingers, Ashido. I didn’t even <em>say </em>that Bakugou was Midoriya’s boyfriend. All I said was that he was <em>acting </em>like it by being so weird and aggressive! All of you blew this <em> way </em>out of proportion!”</p>
<p>“Is <em> that </em> what’s been going on?” Katsuki asked, “You all think I’m Izuku’s <em>boyfriend? </em> Really?” </p>
<p>Izuku put his face in his hands so he didn’t see them nodding, but he heard murmurs of agreement. </p>
<p>“What the hell is wrong with you people?” Katsuki continued, “I mean, honestly, I know how rumors work but this is just crazy. Is it because you’re teenagers? Is that why you came up with that? What is <em>with </em>the preoccupation of romantic relationships? You’re fifteen!”</p>
<p><em> Wait a minute. What? </em>Izuku lowered his hands. Katsuki was looking at his classmates incredulously. </p>
<p>“You mean,” he started weakly, “You mean you’re <em> not </em>in love with me?”</p>
<p>Katsuki stared at him like he was an idiot. “Izuku,” he said with that patient slowness he used to use when teaching Izuku difficult math equations, “I am not in love with you. Even if I was I wouldn’t <em> do </em> anything about it because you’re <em> a child </em> to me.” He spoke faster and louder as he continued, clearly working himself up into a good and proper Katsuki Rant. “I pinch your fucking cheeks for god’s sake! I taught you how to read and do math! I didn’t spend all those hours beating French and Italian into your brain only for you to become this much of an idiot! I ought to kick your ass for this, Izuku. You’re not allowed to be this dumb, okay? I will absolutely lose my mind if you seriously thought I was <em> in love </em>with you.”</p>
<p>“B-but,” Izuku said, “You’re always, um, protecting me and looking after me and we’re always together and, um…” his voice trailed off as Katsuki just stared at him. </p>
<p>“I’m gonna lose it,” Katsuki said, “I’m going to <em> absolutely </em>lose it.”</p>
<p>“Kacchan, please,” Izuku put up placating hands. “I just wasn’t <em> sure, </em>if you-”</p>
<p>Katsuki abruptly switched to Italian and <em>lost it.  </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “Twelve fucking years, Izuku! I’ve known you since you were three years old! I’ve saved your ass from bullies even when you so foolishly threw yourself at them to protect idiotic children who didn’t deserve your attention. I’ve supported your insane idea to become the best hero to help save people who will never be as grateful as they should be. I’ve helped you study and taught you everything I possibly could get away with teaching you. Hell! Last year when you started training with your mysterious teacher, I covered your ass for so many class projects! I’ve been taking care of you for fucking years, Izuku. And maybe from the outside it fucking looks like I love you, and I do, but not like that!  </em>
</p>
<p><em> “I will move mountains for you, Izuku, you’re my goddamn sky and nothing will change that but you are being an absolute fool. I will never be in love with you. I will never see you like that, do you understand? You’re like- Like a son to me almost. Okay? Do you understand? I love you like family but I don’t love you </em> <b> <em> like that.”</em> </b></p>
<p>He was standing when he was finished, not quite shouting but loud enough that the rest of the table had fallen completely silent. Izuku had his hands on his face, tears in his eyes as he listened wordlessly. Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed tightly, and he sighed heavily.</p>
<p><em> “I’m sorry,” </em> Izuku whispered, <em> “I- It just seemed so true at the time. I should’ve just talked to you about it.”  </em></p>
<p><em> “Yes, you should have.” </em> Katsuki sat back down and frowned at him. <em> “Now, can we continue to have lunch together and stop avoiding each other? I hate it.”  </em></p>
<p>Izuku nodded. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “Sorry, Kacchan,” he mumbled.</p>
<p>“Dude,” Kirishima leaned towards him. “What the hell was that?”</p>
<p>“I told you he can speak another language!” Uraraka exclaimed, “I told you so. I don’t know what it is but they’re both fluent.”</p>
<p>“It’s Italian,” Katsuki said calmly, “It’s handy to know another language or four when you want to talk shit about people who are around you. Though, you never know who knows what so you should still be careful.”</p>
<p>Izuku finally picked up his own bowl, shoulders slumped in relief. His stomach had finally unknotted itself and he was <em>ravenous</em>. “I should’ve just listened to Todoroki. He was right. Life <em>is </em>too short to waste with bullshit. I’ll never get those three days back and I took <em> horrible </em>notes in class…”</p>
<p>“Todoroki?” Katsuki asked. </p>
<p>Izuku nodded. He looked up and down the table and then pointed down to the very end where Todoroki sat across the table from Yaoyorozu. She looked up at Todoroki’s name, but he didn’t look over. “That’s him over there across from Yaoyorozu.”</p>
<p>She waved shyly. Then she leaned forward, whispering something. Todoroki opened his eyes and turned his head. He met Izuku’s gaze and Izuku gave him a nervous smile.</p>
<p>Then Todoroki looked at Katsuki and <em>something </em>happened. Izuku could <em>feel </em>that ‘something’ happen but he couldn’t have explained what it meant if he tried. It was a fizzle in the air, like the crackle of electricity, or the pop of dry timber on fire. The hair on his body all stood on end, goosebumps rising, a shiver running right up his spine to the back of his head. “Bluah,” he said reflexively, sticking out his tongue. What <em>was </em>that?</p>
<p>There was the sound of aluminum being crunched and Izuku looked up to see Katsuki squeezing his can slowly. Izuku reached forward and touched his arm, “Kacchan, you’re going to spill.”</p>
<p>Katsuki shuddered and turned his head abruptly, looking at Izuku. “Ah,” he said. He set down the can. “Excuse me for a second, Izuku.” He stood up. </p>
<p>Down at the end of the table, Todoroki also stood up. </p>
<p>“Kacchan?” Izuku asked. Katsuki gave him a polite little bow but didn’t stop, and didn't say anything else. He just. Left.</p>
<p>He just walked away.</p>
<p>And Todoroki followed him.</p>
<p>“What?” Izuku whispered, totally bewildered.</p>
<p>“Do you think they know each other?” Kirishima asked. </p>
<p>“Should we follow them?” Ashido half stood up. Sero grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back down.</p>
<p>“Are you kidding me?” Sero said, “Todoroki isn’t someone you eavesdrop on. And I don’t think Bakugou is either.”</p>
<p>Izuku stared after Katsuki, confused, and curious. “I don’t know what that was all about,” he said quietly, “But I guess I’ll have to ask Kacchan about it later.” He absently rubbed his hand over the back of his head and neck. His hair felt flat again but he couldn’t shake that weird feeling. </p>
<p>Maybe Kirishima was right. Maybe they <em>did </em>know each other?</p>
<p>But how? And from where? Katsuki hadn’t been exaggerating- they’d known each other for twelve years. They’d been together for almost all of their life. When would Katsuki have the time to meet Todoroki without Izuku around?</p>
<p>Frowning still, Izuku ate his lunch.</p>
<p>It probably wasn’t <em>that </em>serious. He’d just find out about it later.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Engage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A young man with blond hair stood in the bathroom, waiting, arms folded across his chest, and facing the doorway.</p>
<p>Another one stepped in, his heterochromatic gaze sweeping across the room before settling on the first young man. The door swung shut behind him. He put his right hand on the handle and ice formed over it effectively locking the door.</p>
<p><em> “I seem to be at a disadvantage here,” </em> the first one said, speaking in fluent Italian, <em> “You’ve overheard me but I haven’t heard you, yet. Why don’t we even things out a bit?”  </em></p>
<p>The second one regarded him with a slowly developing smile. When he spoke, his Italian was a little rusty, but still intelligible. The more he spoke, the smoother it became. <em> “You speak like a Vongola brat, seeking parley so early on. Why should I give up my advantage? I gain nothing in evening out the field.”  </em></p>
<p>The first one sighed, <em> “The Vongola don’t exist anymore. Whatever family or organization you were part of doesn’t exist anymore either. This is a new world. These are new lives. There’s no reason for us to be at each other’s throats when we can help each other instead.” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “And what can you help me with?”  </em>
</p>
<p><em> “For starters,” </em> the first one said dryly, <em> “I can teach you how to be a fucking normal person. You won’t get anywhere acting like this.” </em></p>
<p><em> “I will get exactly where I want to go,” </em> the second one said with a wave of his hand, <em> “I don’t need your help.”  </em></p>
<p>The first one sighed. His slight frown deepened considerably and when he spoke, he sounded as though he wasn’t very pleased with his own idea, <em> “I can offer understanding. Companionship. Who else will understand how we feel but us? There’s no sense in self-isolation. That way leads only to madness.” </em></p>
<p><em> “Is that why you took in that boy?” </em> The second one asked, not yet addressing the offer, <em> “Because you couldn’t stomach being alone?”  </em></p>
<p><em> “I was bored,” </em> the first one said, <em> “A feeling I’m sure you understand. I was in a three-year-old’s body and bored. He was clever enough to teach and I had regular access to him. And he’s a sky. You know how it is. We’re drawn to skies. We can’t help it.” </em></p>
<p>The second one’s left fist tightened down at his side. His false smile dropped and he looked at the first with narrowed eyes. <em> “I know all about the feeling of a sky.”  </em></p>
<p>The first one looked at him in silence, frown easing up as he considered this. Then he lifted one hand from where it was folded across his chest and tucked his thumb under his chin, looking thoughtful, <em> “Your flames changed as well, then?” </em></p>
<p>The second one scoffed.</p>
<p><em> “I used to be a primary storm,” </em> the first one offered, <em> “Now I’m primary sun. It’s. Different. Doesn’t always suit my personality, but it suits the body I’m in. I never thought about it before, had no reason to think of it, but I suppose the body has more determination over the flame than the soul does. It has to suit the body.” </em> He held out his hand, flexing it, palm upwards and there was a smoldering, the smell of burnt sugar, and smoke rose from his palm, <em> “Quirks affect the flames. I think if I had a different quirk or if I had no quirk at all, my flames would be different.” </em></p>
<p>The second one watched him for a while in silence. The first one shook out his hand and put it under his chin again, looking thoughtful. Looking patient. He waited.</p>
<p>Quietly, the second one said, <em> “Cloud and storm. Split right down the middle, like the rest of me.” </em> He chopped one hand vertically down in front of himself, <em> “Hilarious, isn’t it?”  </em></p>
<p><em> “It </em><b><em>is</em> </b><em>peculiar,” </em> the first one admitted, <em> “And interesting. Is your DNA the same on both sides? Are you some sort of partially absorbed set of twins? Or just some sort of natural mutation?”  </em></p>
<p>The second one shrugged. <em> “I never checked.”  </em></p>
<p>The first one nodded. <em> “Do you accept my offer?” </em></p>
<p><em> “Are you not satisfied with your little student?” </em> the second one avoided the question again, <em> “Why haven’t you taught him the flames? You’ve taught him everything else. Surely it’s not because you think that they’re a secret in this world.” </em></p>
<p>The first one sighed, <em> “I was there when Reborn took away Tsuna’s childhood. I didn’t understand that at the time, but I’ve gained some new perspective on just how young a fourteen-year-old is. If there’s even a possibility that the flames will embroil him in that world, I’ll never tell him about them.” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “And yet you let him run off into the dangerous world of heroics all on his own.” </em>
</p>
<p>The first one took a step forward, <em> “I can’t live his life for him. He’s always wanted to help people and he’ll do it until he can’t move anymore but I won’t stop him from something he actually wants. The best I can do is support him.” </em></p>
<p><em> “The best you could do is be there beside him,” </em> the second one countered, <em> “You could protect his back and you’ve chosen not to. You’ve chosen to stand aside. Are you afraid? Or are you just that weak?” </em></p>
<p><em> “I know my limits,” </em>the first one ground his teeth as he spoke. </p>
<p>
  <em> “So it’s weakness then.”  </em>
</p>
<p><em> “And what if it is?” </em> his voice rose with the display of his temper, <em> “Is there something wrong with understanding one’s own weaknesses and working around them accordingly? If I go forward believing myself undefeatable, believing myself to be better than I am, I will inevitably pay for it with my life. What is the point of a second life, at a second chance to live and be happy and find satisfaction and do something worthwhile if I squander it? I’m not untouchable. The very fact that I am here and not </em> <b> <em>there </em> </b> <em> is proof of that.” </em></p>
<p>He took several more steps as he shouted until he was right in front of the second young man, leaning into his space, poking him hard in the chest.</p>
<p><em> “This isn’t a dream. This isn’t a lie. This is reality for me and for you. If you want to pretend you’re above everyone and you don’t need anyone fine. But I know how it feels lying awake at night, knowing that no one you know understands you. No one you care about will ever really know who you are. You and I are alone in this world but we </em> <b> <em>don’t have to be.” </em> </b></p>
<p><em> “And you’d just offer to be my oh-so-understanding companion just like that?” </em> the second one snapped his fingers, <em> “You’ll keep my company out of the kindness of your heart?” </em></p>
<p><em> “Are you even listening to me?” </em> the first one grabbed the lapel of the second one’s uniform jacket and shook him. <em> “This isn’t selfless. We are </em><b><em>both</em> </b><em>alone. Even if I tell Izuku everything, he’ll never truly understand. You have to have been there. I was there. You were there. We will understand each other better than anyone else ever will. Maybe the end was as terrible for you as it was for me, but I </em> <b> <em>miss </em></b><em>it. I miss all of them: All of the Vongola and the families, all the people I knew and cared about, I miss spending time with them, I miss their voices and faces. Hell, I even miss Namimori. I tried to find it but it doesn’t exist here. None of it is here. If I didn’t have such a clear memory, I’d be half-convinced it was all a dream.” </em></p>
<p>The second one had his head turned away, looking down and to the side, <em> “It feels like it was a dream, sometimes.” </em> He lifted one hand and made a fist, <em> “These hands have never held a gun but I still remember the weight of one, the smell of the metal and gunpowder, how to take one apart and clean it and put it back together. I dream of that world every time I sleep.”  </em></p>
<p>The first one put his hand on top of that closed fist and squeezed, <em> “Please,” </em> he said, <em> “We don’t have to keep apart. We don’t have to isolate ourselves from each other. It doesn’t matter to me who you were before. All that matters is that you understand me, you understand that world we came from. Vongola or not, I don’t care. I just want to know it was all real.”  </em></p>
<p><em> “It doesn’t matter, does it?” </em> the second one gave a smile like the blade of a knife, cutting across his lips. <em> “And what if I never tell you who I was?”  </em></p>
<p>The first one frowned uncertainly, <em> “That’s your choice. Fair warning though, I’ll probably figure it out eventually, unless I never met you before, though I doubt that’s the case.” </em></p>
<p>The second one reached up with his left hand, his right still a fist that was held. He cupped the first young man’s cheek in his palm, his thumb running back and forth over his cheekbone. <em> “We’ve certainly met before. The last time we spoke to each other, however, you told me you never wanted to see me again, not personally, not professionally. You said I was worse than heartless. You said I must have no humanity. You were absolutely livid with me. So angry that you must not have been paying very good attention to your surroundings when you left. They said you never came home after that- They didn’t know you’d come to see me, of course. No one but Tsuna knew about us and he never said anything. I never saw you alive again. No one did. They found your body a few months later. The funeral had to be done with a closed casket.” </em></p>
<p>There was a ringing silence when he stopped speaking. They stared at each other, red eyes wide with shock, heterochromatic ones almost shut. </p>
<p><em> “Xanxus,” </em>the first one whispered, his lips barely forming the name, his breath so faint his voice was barely audible. </p>
<p>Xanxus gave him a sad smile. <em> “Hello, Hayato.” </em></p>
<p>Hayato’s breath came in sharply. <em> “How? You-” </em></p>
<p><em> “Anger and grief can be very distracting,” </em> Xanxus murmured, <em> “Even I can make mistakes. Some mistakes get you killed.” </em> </p>
<p>Hayato gently let go of Xanxus’s hand and his uniform. He smoothed his hand over the wrinkled cloth and he leaned in, whispering, <em> “I shouldn’t have said those things to you. I meant to turn around and apologize as soon as I’d calmed down. I was just… I was pacing outside when they grabbed me.” </em></p>
<p><em> “You were right,” </em> Xanxus said, <em> “You still are.”  </em></p>
<p><em> “I’m still sorry,” </em> Hayato said, <em> “I’m so sorry.”  </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “It’s the past now. We can’t do anything about it.”  </em>
</p>
<p>Hayato reached up and touched Xanxus’s cheek gently, almost reverently. <em> “Can I kiss you?” </em></p>
<p>Xanxus huffed out an amused breath of a laugh, <em> “Didn’t you say something earlier about teenagers being too young?”  </em></p>
<p><em> “You’re not really a teenager,” </em> Hayato said, <em> “And neither am I. And I told myself when I saw you next I’d say I was sorry and ask for a kiss. So please. May I kiss you?” </em></p>
<p>For an answer, Xanxus leaned in and kissed him.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, they’re back!” </p>
<p>Izuku sat up, smiling automatically as he saw Katsuki approach. He looked different, somehow. Izuku blinked a few times and then, when Katsuki was almost at the table, he saw it. His bottom lip had been split and was slightly red. His clothing was a little rumpled looking like it had been hastily fixed. </p>
<p>Todoroki murmured something to Katsuki, low and far too quiet to hear, before he peeled off and went to his seat.</p>
<p>Katsuki rolled his eyes at Todoroki’s back and, for some reason, gave him a fond smile. Izuku blinked in surprise as Katsuki sat back down across from him.</p>
<p>“Kacchan?” Izuku asked, “What was that all about?”</p>
<p>Katsuki’s bottom lip was <em>definitely </em>bloody, but it didn’t look bruised or anything. He didn’t look like he’d been in a fight, exactly, but he still looked...strange. </p>
<p>Katsuki paused, his hand halfway to his mouth with food in hand. It was probably cold since he’d been gone for quite a while, but lunch was still lunch. He looked at Izuku and then his eyes moved down the table to glance at Todoroki. Todoroki’s head turned just enough to look back at him. He smiled.</p>
<p>“Nothing much,” Katsuki said idly. “Shouto and I just had an <em> informative </em>chat.”</p>
<p>“Shouto?” Izuku asked, looking from his friend to Todoroki and back, “You’re on a first-name basis already? You just met!” </p>
<p>“I’ll explain later,” Katsuki said with a wave of his hand. “I want to finish my lunch first.”</p>
<p>Izuku gaped at him for a minute or two before he shut his mouth and just shook his head. “This day has been so confusing,” he muttered, “My head hurts.”</p>
<p>Katsuki smiled at him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>after this chapter we get to see how xanshouto grew up. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Beyond Expectations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Enji's fourth child was everything he could have hoped for and more. So much more than he really ever wanted.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By the time Shouto was born, Enji had become desperate. </p><p>Each of the previous children had brought so much promise in the first years after they were born. Enji knew it was impossible to tell for sure from hair color alone what the combination of quirks would be for the children, but when they had their mother’s white hair and his red, he was so full of hope. Three times he anxiously awaited the determination of their quirk from the best quirk analysts he could get his hands on at the time.</p><p>Three times his hopes were dashed with the returning news of their quirks. Yes, they had <em>potential, </em> that much was obvious for they <em>were </em>his children.</p><p>But they were not what he <em>wanted. </em>They were not equal parts ice and fire. They were not what he was looking for, what he was trying to create.</p><p>It was difficult to convince Rei to have their fourth child. Enji had promised her as much as he could, had cajoled, had persuaded, had impressed upon her how important this was to him and it wasn’t until he’d told her that this was the last one that she agreed. He understood pregnancy wasn’t easy on her, he had been with her through the first three after all and knew what kind of terror she could become, but this was more important than mere physical discomfort.</p><p>Shouto had been born in the early morning after a day’s worth of labor. Enji had been there with Rei during the whole thing, holding her hand, witnessing her pain, watching, and awaiting the birth of their fourth child. The baby had wailed with good, strong lungs when he finally was free of his mother. It was near three in the morning and everyone was exhausted and Shouto had <em>screamed.  </em></p><p>And Enji had let himself hope, once more, that this time, <em> this time, </em>it would all be worth it. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The first sign Enji had that Shouto was the masterpiece he had hoped for was when the boy’s eyes changed from that baby blue to a heterochromatic grey and turquoise, one each like his and Rei's. The second sign was his hair which grew in with an exact part down the center, one side white as his mother’s, the other side red as Enji’s own. The third sign had been the difference in skin tone between his right and left sides. </p><p>Enji often would hold his infant son in one arm, marveling at his clear eyes, wondering at the wisp of hair around his face, gently touching his hands or feet in delight at the slightly pinker hue his left side had compared to his right. </p><p>The first sign Enji had that Shouto was <em>more </em>than he’d bargained for came when he’d caught the boy, only a year old at the time, attentively listening to a discussion Enji was having with Rei. He had been in his high chair at the table, fingers curled in the bits of cereal that Rei had given him as a snack, his eyes moving back and forth between them. Enji had brought it up to Rei, who had just insisted it was because they were his parents and he was naturally curious. </p><p>Something told Enji it was more than that.</p><p>The second sign Enji had was Shouto’s verbal development. He didn’t speak a coherent word until he was almost four years old, making due with pointing, gesturing and a wordless “ah-<em> ah!” </em>sound to get his meaning across. Rei insisted she did everything she could to teach him his words, but he showed no interest in speaking back to her no matter how long she tried. Enji had watched her teach him, just to be sure she spoke the truth.</p><p>The first words Shouto ever spoke were at dinner, just after the meal had been set on the table and thanks had been given, Rei had turned to feed the boy herself. Shouto had stared at her, mouth closed tightly, as she tried to persuade and cajole him to eat. </p><p>“Are you not hungry right now, Shouto?” she had asked, her plaintive tone like a needle in Enji’s ear but he did his best to ignore it. If she couldn’t manage to feed the boy, he would do it himself. “Or do you want something else to eat?”</p><p>The other children watched on in relative silence. This wasn’t an uncommon sight, after all. The older Shouto got, the pickier he was about his food. </p><p>The boy gave a little grunt at her second question and Rei set down the bowl she held, looking hopeful, “What would you like to eat, Shouto? Do you want some of mommy’s food?”</p><p>Shouto took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Enji remembered the moment so clearly because the look on Shouto’s face had been one of deep, <em> deep </em>annoyance and exasperation. When he opened his eyes again, Shouto spoke his first words.</p><p>“I <em> want </em>some <em>fucking pasta,” </em>he said. </p><p>In the silence that followed that statement, Shouto folded his arms across his chest and said, “I don’t care where it comes from or even if it’s soggy as <em> shit </em> but if I have to eat one more <em> goddamn </em> bowl of mashed up baby rice I will make sure everyone suffers with me.” His eyes had settled on Enji and he said, <em> “Everyone.”  </em></p><p>“Sh-shouto,” Rei had rallied first, “You can’t- You can’t say things like that-”</p><p>“Gimme. <em> Pasta,” </em> Shouto had replied. </p><p>“Shouto-”</p><p>“Rei,” Enji had cut her off sharply. She had flinched and glanced at him. “Make him some pasta.”</p><p>“But I-” she began, “I don’t really how to-”</p><p>“Then go and buy some already made,” Enji told her. He stared hard at her until she got to her feet, mumbling an apology and leaving the table. When she was gone, he turned his gaze to Shouto and said, “Do not swear at your mother.”</p><p>“Make it worth it to me and I won’t,” Shouto retorted. </p><p>“You’re getting your pasta,” Enji said, “So mind your words, boy, and your tone.”</p><p>“Oh, my tone too?” Shouto said with a little laugh. “As you say, Father.” </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The third sign came after Shouto’s quirks developed. </p><p>As Enji had hoped, as he had predicted from the way the boy looked, he had two quirks. He could summon and control ice on his right side and do the same with fire on his left side. The first displays of his quirk were little more than frost gathered on his fingertips and the curl of flames in his palm, but it was enough for Enji to know he’d finally managed to create his masterpiece.</p><p>So caught up in his success, Enji missed one very crucial thing. </p><p>He missed Shouto’s reaction to the discovery of his own quirks. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Just to double-check everything, Enji had the quirk doctors inspect the boy and officially declare his quirks as ice and fire. Shouto was unusually compliant through all of the testing, something that should have tipped Enji off at the time but he was too distracted to notice. He had what he wanted at long last. Now he could begin the next step of his process and start training his son to surpass all others in the heroic world, including All Might himself.</p><p>He proudly carried Shouto from the doctor’s office that day, feeling even better taking him home than he had when Shouto was an infant first coming home from the hospital. This, too, Shouto tolerated, though he rarely let anyone pick him up these days.</p><p>The rest of the family reacted as Enji expected them to. Rei looked anxious and nervous and didn’t say much. The other children said their congratulations, though it was clear that none of them really understood how important Shouto’s quirks were. Enji had long given up on trying to explain it to them. The children were too young and not what he was looking for anyway; it didn’t matter what they wanted. And Rei had never understood his desires; not why he’d chosen her, not why he insisted on more children, not why Shouto <em>mattered </em>so much.</p><p>So Enji had announced the results of the testing and then whisked Shouto away to work with. He had to teach the boy how to use his quirks, after all, and to start training him to become a skilled and competent fighter.</p><p>It was when they were alone in his private gym that the other shoe dropped. </p><p>He set Shouto down on the fireproof mats with utmost care. He took a few steps back, considering his approach, as Shouto looked around the gym. He’d never been in this room before; Enji never let any of the children into his training room. </p><p>“Shouto,” Enji said, standing over his son, “It is time to begin your training.”</p><p>“I’m four,” Shouto replied.</p><p>“Precisely,” Enji said, “Your quirks have finally developed and we can begin to strengthen them and train you to use them to your fullest potential at last.”</p><p>“I don’t think you understand what I meant by that,” Shouto said, “I am four years old. I’m not training.”</p><p>“As your father, Shouto, I am in charge of you and your education. You have inherited my quirk and so I will teach you how to best utilize it from a young age. Fire quirks can be dangerous if left in untrained hands and-”</p><p>Shouto turned and began to walk away from him. Enji was so surprised he went silent and stared at the boy for several seconds before hurrying after him. He grabbed Shouto by the left shoulder and pulled him back only to let go of him with a pain-filled shout. Enji shook out his hand, the skin of his fingers and palms shiny pink from contact with extreme heat.</p><p>Shouto stood in front of him, half-turned towards him. There was no flame on his skin, but a heat shimmer distorted the air above his left shoulder. “If I need help, <em> Father, </em>I will ask for it.”</p><p>“That is unacceptable,” Enji said firmly, “Under this roof, you shall obey me, Shouto. You were born for this purpose and you will do as I say. Cease the use of your quirk immediately.”</p><p>Shouto stared at him. “Alright,” he said after a moment, “I’ll bite. What the hell are you training me for? What is my ‘purpose’?” He lifted one hand for air quotes on that word.</p><p>“I told you to stop using your quirk, Shouto,” Enji pressed. He could feel the temperature of the air slowly beginning to rise. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and for Enji it wouldn’t reach an uncomfortable temperature for quite a while, but it was the principle of the thing. </p><p>With a sigh, Shouto finally complied. The heat shimmer vanished from his shoulder. He folded his arms across his chest, chin lifted in defiance, “Now tell me what you want me to do for you?”</p><p>Against Enji’s usual instinct, he took a step forward and went down to one knee in front of Shouto to get down to his level. The boy was so obstinate and proud that it both infuriated Enji and made him proud. He couldn’t order this child around the way he could his wife and other children. Simply commanding him to train and to obey wasn’t going to work and Enji should have known that. When had Shouto done anything that wasn’t also favorable to him somehow?</p><p>“You know that your father is a hero,” Enji said, “I am ranked second among all heroes and I have been in this place for many years. There is one hero greater than I am, only one. To my great frustration, I have come to the realization I will never surpass him. With my single quirk, I will never outmatch this man. This is why I married your mother, in the hopes that her quirk and mine would combine into a child with both of our quirks. A child like you, Shouto. You are the pinnacle of my achievement. Your destiny is to surpass this hero and become the greatest hero alive. That is what I made you for. That is what I will train you to do.”</p><p>For a long moment, Shouto just stared at him. He blinked once, twice, and then said, “If he bothers you so damn much, why don’t you just kill him?”</p><p>“Kill him?” Enji said in shock, “Shouto, <em> no.” </em></p><p>“And why not?” Shouto said, “You have a fire quirk. Use it. No one would ever find the body and you have enough fame that people might question you but people will defend you too. If he goes missing and his body is never found it doesn’t matter how great of a hero he was, the case will go cold and it’ll be a mystery that people write about online and make TV shows about but never can solve.”</p><p>Enji stared at his son. “Where did you get such ideas? What have you been watching and listening to?”</p><p>“I’m just pointing out the obvious,” Shouto said. “As long as you don’t fuck it up somehow and you can get rid of key pieces of evidence without making it obvious, no one will know it was you that got rid of him. The cops will give up eventually.”</p><p>“They absolutely will not,” Enji said, “Especially if someone like All Might were to go missing or be killed, they would do everything they could to locate the perpetrator.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling like they’d gotten very off track of his original topic, but worried at Shouto’s words. “Shouto, you cannot kill people and burn up their bodies. It is illegal and it is wrong and if you do so, I will bring you to justice, even if you are my son.” </p><p>He lowered his hand and looked seriously at Shouto, “No one should be allowed to get away with such a heinous thing.”</p><p>“No one <em>should </em>commit <em>any </em>crime,” Shouto said with a shrug, “But they do. They do all the time. And they get away with it too. There are so many reasons why people get away with shit, not the least being that not every cop gives a shit. Not every cop is going to work as hard as they can. They’re just people and people are inherently lazy and predisposed to find the simplest and fastest way to do anything.”</p><p>“What have you been listening to?” Enji asked again, “Where have you gotten these ideas? This is not the way things are done-”</p><p>“Oh <em> please,” </em> Shouto put his hand over his eyes, “Do <em> not </em> tell me that you are somehow both a controlling asshole <em> and </em>a naive innocent who believes in justice and order of the law!” </p><p>“Shouto-”</p><p>“You are, aren’t you?” Shouto dropped his hand and pointed accusingly at him, “Do you really believe humans are any good? Really? Look at yourself, old man. You pine after this smug smiling prick because he’s one place higher than you on your made up social charter that you based your entire life around. You married a woman and had kids in order to make <em>me </em>because you’re so obsessed with your rank you have to defeat him yourself and so narcissistic that you can’t even see me as <em>my own person. </em>Clearly, I’m only an extension of you, so of course if I beat that asshole, it’s the same as you doing it-</p><p>“Shouto, that’s enough,” Enji said firmly, but Shouto, of course, did not listen to him. His son’s voice rose in volume as he continued, gesturing aggressively as he shouted.</p><p>“You shout at your kids when they get underfoot so they avoid you. You belittle your wife so she cowers in front of you. You’re the most arrogant bastard I’ve met yet and somehow, <em> somehow </em>it makes so much sense that you’d be a fucking cop sympathizer. Power and control come naturally to you, don’t they? You’re just better than everyone else, aren’t you? You <em>disgust </em>me as a human,” Shouto said, leaning towards Enji with fire in his eyes. Enji stared at him in shock. “You think you’re a good person though, don’t you? You don’t kill anyone and you follow the laws and maybe you slap your wife around but that’s <em>discipline, </em>isn’t it? She should know her place. She should know what her job is. Just like you think I should know what my job is, right?”</p><p>“That is <em>enough, </em> Shouto,” Enji raised his voice and got to his feet. He towered over his four-year-old son, but Shouto showed no fear. He just took a step back so he could keep looking up into Enji’s face. </p><p>“You’re the kind of trash that disgusts me the most,” Shouto said, “I cannot <em>believe </em> I have to suffer through this life with you as my father. I did a lot of bullshit but I don’t fucking deserve this. I don’t deserve <em> you.”  </em></p><p>“Shouto,” Enji shouted, “You will shut up right now, do you hear me?” His hands tightened to fists at his sides.</p><p>Shouto was quiet for about three seconds and then a nasty little smirk crossed his face. His eyes were half-closed as he looked up at Enji, “It’s hard to hold back, isn’t it? Don’t you just want to smack me? Surely a slap across the face will shut me up. That’s a line you haven’t crossed yet with your kids. Is it one you’ve crossed with your wife? Have you slapped her to shut her up? Or do you just shout at her until she’s crying?”</p><p>“Enough of this,” Enji ground out. He could feel the sparks of his anger catching deep in his bones, like embers on tinder. His hands trembled with how tightly he kept them curled into fists, down at his sides. “You will be quiet, Shouto, or else I’ll-”</p><p>Shouto laughed at him, “What are you going to do? Ground me? Spank me? Go for it. Punish me, <em> Father, </em> for the sin of speaking honestly to you. If you can find something that actually will hurt me, I’ll be damn impressed.”</p><p>Enji fell silent, staring at the boy. Shouto had always been strange. He’d always been a little too smart, a little too clever. A little too intense. Even now he was a tightly controlled fire as he stood in front of Enji. </p><p>He tried to make sense of Shouto’s words. They were too forceful, too passionate, to be the regurgitation of overheard conversation that children often started to do at this age. They weren’t rehearsed, as far as he could tell. These were Shouto’s thoughts and Shouto’s opinions and Shouto’s feelings. He spoke with assurance at his insights, confident that his words were true.</p><p>Enji found himself with the uncomfortable realization that his little masterpiece, his most precious child, was somehow very, <em> very </em>broken inside. He couldn’t decide what it was, exactly, that made him act this way, but even if he could figure it out, he had no idea if there was anything he could do about it. </p><p>Shouto had always been like this. What could Enji do to fix what had started out broken? Send him to a mental hospital? He was <em>four. </em>His whole psyche hadn’t properly developed yet.</p><p>All he had wanted was a child with quirks strong enough to surpass All Might.</p><p>He had gotten that child, but at what cost?</p><p>“Leave,” Enji said, “Go to your room, Shouto.”</p><p>“Had enough of my bullshit, <em> Father?” </em>Shouto asked, his voice curling around the word ‘father’ like it turned his whole mouth sour to say the word. “Can’t face the truth of yourself?”</p><p>Enji snapped. This obstinate little boy- He lurched forward and scooped Shouto up under his arms. He was so light, so incredibly light, despite how rigidly he held himself or the dark look he gave Enji. He held him out from himself barely controlling his lashing anger from boiling over. He said nothing as he stalked to the doorway and nudged it open with his foot. </p><p>Shouto began to laugh again as Enji carried him through the house and to his room. He was so caught up in his giggling that when Enji set him down on the floor in his room, he collapsed into a heap. </p><p>Enji took a few steps back and looked down at his crazed son. He couldn’t get rid of him- Couldn’t have him committed anywhere or locked up- He <em>needed </em>Shouto to do what he was destined to do. He needed him to defeat All Might for Enji.</p><p>“You stay here until you’ve calmed down,” Enji said, speaking over the giggling. “We will speak on the matter of your training later.”</p><p>Shouto sat up, wiping tears from his eyes with one hand, “I’ll tell you what, Enji,” Shouto said, “If you can come up with a good enough reason for me to want to beat the shit out of that guy for you, I’ll do it. But it’s got to be more than you want his position or you want to fuck him-” Enji leaned back as if struck when Shouto said this, fury burned through him and he felt himself about to launch into his own furious tirade when the rest of Shouto’s words caught up to him. </p><p>“I’ll do anything you like for a good enough reason,” Shouto said blithely, “Training. Your bullshit heroism. Whatever it is, I don’t care. I already know what I want from this life and I can spare some energy on your petty little desires, <em> Father. </em>It’s just got to be worth it to me. If it’s not worth it, I don’t give a shit.”</p><p>“You are not my son.” The words come out of Enji without him even properly thinking them. They startled him as much as they startled Shouto, who lost his smug little expression and looked up at him, blinking a few times. Enji took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re my flesh and blood but whatever it is that makes you like this, that is not mine. It is not your mother’s, either.”</p><p>“I may not be your son,” Shouto said. That surprise faded and he grinned at Enji, baring his teeth like a dog, “But I’m the son you’re stuck with. You’d better get used to me, <em> Father. </em>I’m all you’ve fucking got.”</p><p>Wordlessly, Enji turned and walked out of the room. Shouto’s laughter followed him out the door.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. School Arrangements</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ultimately, Enji did not start training the boy. </p>
<p>At first he told himself he was waiting for things to calm down before he brought him into the gym again. But as the waiting went from days to weeks, Enji kept coming up with other reasons why to wait to attempt the training him. He had to come up with a proper regime for Shouto, who was young and still growing. He needed to be prepared to deal with ice quirk training, not just fire quirk training. He needed to figure out the right timing for everything so he didn’t totally overwork himself. Sometimes the timing was wrong or sometimes Rei had taken the boy out with the other children to the park or something. Sometimes Enji got wrapped up in cases at work and didn’t have time to come home to train Shouto or have the energy to deal with him.</p>
<p>Dealing with Shouto took a considerable amount of energy, too. He’d only gotten worse since the first time Enji had brought him to the gym. It was like whatever reason he’d had to pretend to be normal had burned away and now he acted and spoke in any manner that he liked. </p>
<p>Rei could do nothing about it, of course, she was unusually inept in doing anything related to Shouto that wasn’t simply standing by and letting him do whatever he liked. She caved to every demand he made, be it for various food items, purchases, trips out of the house, what to watch on the television- Rei never told Shouto no.</p>
<p>Admittedly, Enji wasn’t much better off. Shouto was disobedient, contrarian and aggressive. Enji had to have a good reason to get him to do anything and it couldn't be some objectively good reason either. It had to be a good reason <em> by Shouto’s standards. </em>If it didn’t matter to him, he simply wouldn’t bother and nothing anyone said could change that.</p>
<p>Which is why Enji really shouldn’t have been surprised when, one day he was resting at home in recovery from a work related injury, he discovered that the three elder children all went off to school and Shouto stayed home. He was five now, old enough to be going to kindergarten. Last Enji had known about the situation, he had been enrolled in a decent place, the same place his siblings had gone to. </p>
<p>And yet here he was in the sitting room, kneeling at the kotatsu and watching television. </p>
<p>Enji stood in the doorway, looking at his son. </p>
<p>Shouto turned his head away from the screen and looked back at him. He was eating from a tray of assorted fruits and cheeses. There was a half eaten pastry as well. It looked like a croissant. Where the hell had Rei gotten the boy a croissant?</p>
<p>“Ribs still busted up?” Shouto asked as he picked up a piece of apple, “Or are you on your way out?”</p>
<p>“Why are you here?” Enji asked him. He was supposed to be in school. He wasn’t even dressed. Was this his breakfast? What the hell was Rei teaching him? What the hell was she letting him get away with? Where the hell was she, anyway?</p>
<p>Shouto blinked and then tilted his head to the side as if deeply considering that question. He chewed the apple, reached for a piece of cheese and then said, “I ask myself that a lot. I mean, if there is a reason for it, what the hell could it possibly be? Is this my punishment? Is it yours? Is it Mother’s? What is the point of all of this and why is it happening?”</p>
<p>“What?” Enji shook his head. Clearly he’d been misunderstood, “No. I meant why are you <em> here </em>. In this room. Right now. You should be in school.”</p>
<p>Shouto’s expression closed up. Enji didn’t realize how open his face had been until it shuttered shut. He didn’t realize he’d missed some sort of opportunity until much later. “I don’t go to school,” he said.</p>
<p>“But you must,” Enji said, “You need a proper education, Shouto. You will never get anywhere in life if you neglect your studies.”</p>
<p>“Do you know what most five year olds <em> study?” </em> Shouto countered, popping cheese into his mouth, “How to read. How to write letters. How to count to ten. Bullshit like that. I don’t need that shit and if I did I <em> definitely </em> don’t need to learn it around <em> children. </em>They’re filthy and annoying.” </p>
<p>“Even so,” Enji said, “The kindergarten you were enrolled into feeds into a good elementary school. You need to socialize with your peers, Shouto. It’s important to your mental and social development.” </p>
<p>In the back of his mind, some part of Enji couldn’t believe that this was the way he spoke to his son, his <em> five year old son. </em>But if he didn’t speak to him this way, if he didn't treat him like a little adult in a child’s body, Shouto didn’t respond at all. Everything had to be done the way he wanted and Enji had learned that as much as anyone in the house had.</p>
<p>“It’s insulting to call those children my peers,” Shouto looked back at the television. “Insulting to me and to my actual peers, but luckily for you, none of them are here to hear you say that. Besides, that place won’t take me back anyway. I got kicked out.”</p>
<p>Enji took a step into the room, “What? Why?”</p>
<p>“Apparently,” Shouto said mildly, “When some little bitch pulls on my hair, I shouldn’t slap her and threaten to burn all her hair off. They said I had an aggressive and violent personality and for the safety of the other children and for the sake of their school property, they would not accept me as a student.” He scoffed and pulled a chunk off of the croissant. He waved it at Enji as he said, “Can you imagine that? Me? Aggressive? Violent? I mean, of course I am, but do they have to act like I’m not good enough for them because of it?”</p>
<p>“When did this happen?” Enji demanded, “Why did no one tell me?”</p>
<p>Shouto chewed his pastry, one eyebrow lifted as he looked at Enji like he was an idiot. “You harassed Mother to the point that she sobbed in the kitchen for three hours two days ago because she let Fuyumi get her hair cut short at the hair stylist and you thought it made her look like an ugly little boy. Why the fuck do you <em> think </em>no one tells you anything, you arrogant bastard?”</p>
<p>“She should’ve known better than to let her hack off all of her hair,” Enji retorted. He was already annoyed at Shouto’s school situation so the return to anger over Fuyumi’s hair situation wasn’t difficult for him. “It makes her look terrible. What are people going to say when they see her?”</p>
<p>“Who gives a shit?” Shouto snapped, “It’s fucking hair. It grows back. Dye it, bleach it, shave it all off, <em> it grows back.”  </em></p>
<p>“She better not be thinking of dying her hair-”</p>
<p>“My god,” Shouto said, “Do you even hear yourself? Do you really think you can control how everyone around you should act or look? Or is that a special regard you hold just for your kids? You make me sick.” </p>
<p>Enji took another step into the room, hand lifting, “Shouto, I tolerate quite a lot from you, but you really try my patience with this sort of talk. You should not speak to me this way.”</p>
<p>“Be grateful I speak to you at all,” Shouto said with a sneer, “The day you really should start to watch your back is the day I cease to acknowledge you.”</p>
<p>“Are you <em> threatening </em>me?” </p>
<p>“Do you feel threatened?” Shouto countered.</p>
<p>Enji opened his mouth but said nothing. <em> No, of course not, </em>he wanted to say. How could a five year old child be threatening? Shouto wasn’t dangerous to Enji- maybe to others, but not to Enji.</p>
<p>But there was a look in Shouto’s eyes, cold and hard and dangerous. As the silence continued, that expression shifted, but not in a comforting way. Shouto gave a little smile, pleased, <em> delighted, </em>at Enji’s uncomfortable reluctance. </p>
<p>The words <em> “I am not afraid of you,” </em>sat heavy on Enji’s tongue. He wanted to say them. He felt almost compelled to. But he had a feeling that if he did, Shouto would react in one of two ways. He would laugh or he would smile and say that, actually, Enji did fear him. </p>
<p>What Enji managed to say instead was, “I will be speaking to your mother about your education. My son will not be a delinquent before he is even a teenager.”</p>
<p>Shouto laughed, shaking his head in amusement, “Do whatever you like, <em> Father. </em> I’m sure Mother will be <em> so glad </em>to speak to you about me.” </p>
<p>Enji narrowed his eyes at the boy but didn’t ask what that meant. Shouto had gone back to watching his show after saying those words, turning just enough that he had his shoulder to Enji. He was done with their conversation and if Enji were to press for answers now, Shouto’s outburst wouldn’t be worth the effort of asking.</p>
<p>He backed out of the room and shut the door, swearing under his breath. He’d get that boy into a school <em> somehow. </em>He just had to figure out what would make it worth it to Shouto. There had to be something he wanted. Enji just had to think of it.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“I have to go stay with my mother for a week.”</p>
<p>Enji, standing in front of his closet, slowly turned around and looked at his wife. </p>
<p>Rei stood by the doorway to their bedroom with the door slightly open behind her. There was a red suitcase on the floor beside her and a bag on her shoulder. </p>
<p>“And this is how you decided to tell me?” he asked with a scowl.</p>
<p>“I told you a few days ago it looked like she wasn’t getting better,” she said, “I said I’d probably need to go and I wouldn’t know for sure until today.” She stared somewhere at the floor between him and the bed, not looking him in the eye, as usual. </p>
<p>“And what about the children?” he asked, “Are you taking them with you?”</p>
<p>“Touya’s just recovered from the flu, and I don’t want to chance Mother catching that while she’s already sick,” she said, “I already spoke with Tsume-san. She’ll prepare meals and check in on them every day after school.”</p>
<p>Enji narrowed his eyes at her, “Shouto still isn’t attending a school. Are you going to leave him to fend for himself during the day?”</p>
<p>Rei’s grip on her luggage tightened. “He’s quite capable, Enji-”</p>
<p>“He is<em> five,” </em> Enji said, “And he burns anything that annoys him.”</p>
<p>“He doesn’t need to be watched constantly-”</p>
<p>“Do <em> you </em> leave him to his own devices during the day? Is <em> that </em>why the couch in the blue room was burnt to a husk two weeks ago?”</p>
<p>Rei bit her lip and went silent. Enji folded his arms over his chest and stared at her. She was going to be unusually stubborn about leaving, he could tell, since she wasn’t already backing down. Of course she was. She was always stubborn about her meddling mother.</p>
<p>The door behind her pushed open farther, startling Rei. She turned towards it with a gasp. “Shouto-”</p>
<p>The boy stood behind her, peering around her legs to look at Enji. “Let Mother go see Grandmother,” Shouto said, “She’s her Mother and she’s sick.”</p>
<p>“Shouto, leave,” Enji said, “This conversation doesn’t concern you.”</p>
<p>“I heard you say my name,” Shouto retorted, “So it does.” He looked up at Rei, “Go see Grandmother. I’ll be fine while you’re gone and I won’t burn anything down.”</p>
<p>“Shouto,” Rei leaned down towards him and said gently, “If you promise to be good, you could come with me-”</p>
<p>“No,” Enji said. </p>
<p>She turned her head to look at Enji, though not directly, “He’s not as delicate as the others, Enji, he’ll be fine if he comes along.”</p>
<p>“I said no,” Enji said. He crossed the room over to the two of them. </p>
<p>Shouto gave his mother’s hand a sympathetic pat, “I’m too valuable to Father for him to let me go with you to Grandmother’s. I’ll be fine at home, Mother. Go and take care of Grandmother.”</p>
<p>“You will not stay in the house all day by yourself, Shouto,” Enji said to the boy, ignoring Rei for the moment. “I’ll hire a temporary nanny or something to watch over you.”</p>
<p>Shouto made a disgusted face, “No nanny. No babysitter. I don’t need to be watched every second of the day. I’ve got plenty to keep myself occupied.”</p>
<p>“You are too young to leave home alone,” Enji said, “I would rather take you with me to the agency and have you looked after there than to be left here alone.”</p>
<p>Shouto blinked a few times and then said, “Your agency? You mean you have offices or something you go to?”</p>
<p>“Of course I do,” Enji said, “What do you think I do as a hero, Shouto?”</p>
<p>“Oh you do not want me to answer that one,” Shouto said with a snort. He looked amused as he tilted his head to the side and said, “I’ll go to your agency, Father. That sounds interesting.”</p>
<p>Enji opened his mouth to counter that argument but immediately realized that <em> this might be it. </em>This might be the thing he can use to convince Shouto to become a proper hero. If he could convince him to be a hero, he could convince him to train. If he could convince him to train, he could convince him to best All Might. </p>
<p>Enji turned to Rei instead, “Put together some sort of travel bag for Shouto so he isn’t idle. Don’t worry about sending him with snacks or lunch, I will take care of that for him.” </p>
<p>Rei blinked a few times and glanced down at Shouto, as if looking for reassurance. Shouto nodded to her, which irked Enji. Rei was totally wrapped around the boy’s finger. She had been much more compliant before Shouto had started talking. </p>
<p>Shouto pushed the door open farther and Rei hurried out of the room, taking her suitcase with her. Shouto watched her go and then peered up at Enji. </p>
<p>Enji looked down at him, frowning. </p>
<p>“Promise me ravioli,” Shouto said.</p>
<p>“Ravioli?” Enji asked, “Why would I promise you ravioli?”</p>
<p>“Promise me ravioli and I promise that when we leave your agency today, no one will be whispering about your psychopathic son,” Shouto grinned broadly, that all-his-teeth look that made the skin prickle on the back of Enji’s neck. “Ravioli is the price of my good behavior, Father. At least it is for today.”</p>
<p><em> “Just </em> ravioli?”</p>
<p>“Good ravioli,” Shouto clarified. </p>
<p>It seemed too good to be true. “Is this how your mother gets you to behave? By promising you pasta?”</p>
<p>Shouto shrugged.</p>
<p>Enji frowned harder. “Fine. You’ll get your good ravioli.”</p>
<p>Shouto nodded to him, “It’s a deal,” he said. “I guess I’ve got to go get dressed for work,” he turned and walked off, laughing to himself.</p>
<p>As Enji went back to his closet to finish dressing, he tried to not think of all the ways this could go horribly, <em> horribly </em>wrong. </p>
<p>He was not successful. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Introduction to the Agency</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Moe was the first one who saw Endeavor that morning. She was loitering in the lobby, cheerfully greeting other members of the Endeavor Hero Agency as they arrived for work. She had just started her internship there the day before and she desperately wanted to put her best foot forward and stand out from all the other interns. </p><p>She immediately recognized Endeavor’s silhouette the moment he appeared on the other side of the glass doors, though she was surprised to see him lacking his tell-tale flames. Drawing herself up, she took a deep breath to ready a greeting and then stood there, staring in surprise, as Endeavor stepped into the building with a tiny boy held in one arm.</p><p>He had perfectly divided hair, half white, half red, and wore a white shirt with a little tie and a dark blue vest. He looked like the tiniest office worker in the world and sat calmly on Endeavor’s forearm with a little black backpack on his back. He was turning his head as he checked out the room, one hand resting on Endeavor’s shoulder as Endeavor himself paused long enough to remove sunglasses and tuck them away. </p><p>Moe’s breath left her in a rush and she blinked a few times before rallying and stepping forward, “Good morning Endeavor! Welcome to your agency, sir!”</p><p>Both Endeavor and his son turned and looked at her. Endeavor’s expression was stern but the boy looked faintly amused. Endeavor gestured to her, “You’re Burnin’, right?”</p><p>Moe brightened up even more. She resisted the urge to nervously pat at her hair because she could see it flickering a little more wildly than usual because of her excitement, “Yes sir! That’s me!” She saluted him, “Your number one intern Burnin’ is reporting for duty!” </p><p>“Follow me,” was all he said to that before he headed towards the elevator. She gaped for a moment and then jumped to follow him, feeling light on her feet. He’d noticed her! She <em>knew </em>that her early greeting idea was going to really make her stand out!</p><p>She followed Endeavor into the elevator, positively bouncing on her heels as she stood with him inside. Endeavor didn’t say anything or look away from the doors, but his son watched her with a slight smile. </p><p>Moe waved at him and gave a big grin. The boy blinked and then made a huffing noise of amusement, smiling as he turned his head away. He was still looking at her from the corner of his eye, though, so she gave him a thumbs-up as well. </p><p>Endeavor stepped off the elevator on the level that held his office as well as the offices of the handful of other Pros in the agency and others that helped keep the agency running. Moe had seen this floor only once as part of the tour and even then she’d only spend a minute or two here before going on to a different floor. She couldn’t help but look around curiously as she followed Endeavor towards his office. </p><p>They passed another office, this one for the flame heroine Fire Fox, on the way to Endeavor’s office. Moe glanced in and smiled automatically, even though the woman was staring past her, through the glass walls at Endeavor. She looked surprised at what she saw, which was the first real indication Moe had that Endeavor bringing his son to work was unusual.</p><p>Moe followed Endeavor into his office. He stopped beside his desk and turned. He shifted his son in his arms and then very carefully set him down on the floor. The boy brushed himself off, straightened his hair, and then turned to look at Moe. </p><p>“Burnin’,” Endeavor said as he went and sat down at his desk, “This is your first internship at my agency, correct?”</p><p>“Yes sir!” she said, quickly looking up from the little boy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him start looking at the nearest shelf but she didn’t let herself get distracted by him. “What can I do for you, sir?”</p><p>“I have an unusual problem,” he said. He folded his hands together on his desk and leaned forward, “As you can see, I had to bring my youngest son into work with me today, but I cannot be bound to the building to tend him all day and it simply isn’t safe for me to take him with me on patrols or out into the city.”</p><p>Moe nodded. </p><p>“I need someone I can trust to keep an eye on my son for the day,” he said, “And I would like that person to be you.” Before Moe could so much as blink in reaction, he continued on, “I do not intend for this responsibility to usurp your current intern related tasks, Burnin’. This is an additional challenge for you if you choose to accept it.”</p><p>Moe blinked several more times and then tilted her head to the side, “You want me to, um, babysit your son?” </p><p>“Not exactly,” Endeavor said, “He is an independent boy and rather intelligent for his age. He has plenty of things to occupy him during the day so you will not be required to… play with him. What I require is someone to make sure he doesn’t leave the building or get himself into trouble.”</p><p>Moe looked uncertainly at the boy. Maybe Endeavor didn’t call it babysitting but it sounded an awful lot like it…</p><p>“His name is Shouto,” Endeavor said, “Shouto? Say hello.”</p><p>“She hasn’t accepted your offer yet,” Shouto said without turning around. He was looking up at the shelf in front of him, his hands clasped together behind his back. “And I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t, honestly. Who wants to babysit a fucking kid when they came here to be a hero or whatever.”</p><p>Moe’s jaw dropped as she stared at the back of the boy. When she looked at Endeavor, however, he looked resigned as he rubbed his forehead. He lowered his hand and sighed, “As you can see, Burnin’, Shouto is an unusual child. I do not require you to occupy his time or to make sure he is fed or kept clean. Simply keep him with you during the day and protect him.” He drummed his fingers on his desk and added, “Think of it as bodyguarding, not babysitting. You’ll need to keep an eye on him, keep him safe, keep him from being taken or from wandering off. Is this something you think you can handle?”</p><p>Moe looked at Shouto again. He had turned away from the shelf enough to watch her from the corner of his eye. He looked like he was smiling.</p><p>Moe <em>had </em>tended kids before, she had a little sister who was a few years older than Shouto looked, and she <em>really </em>didn’t want to babysit a child when she was supposed to be doing hero work, but…</p><p>“Um,” she straightened up and turned to Endeavor, “Is there someone after Shouto? Is he in danger or something?”</p><p>Shouto gave a little laugh but Endeavor looked serious as he said, “He is my son. I’m sure there are plenty of villains who would like to get their hands on him in order to hurt me if they knew he was here. And Shouto has…” his voice faded a bit and he frowned at his son.</p><p>“The polite term for it is ‘behavioral problems’,” Shouto said, looking at the shelves again. He stood on his tiptoes as he reached up and picked up one of the awards displayed there. He turned it back and forth in his little hand as he continued, “I don’t play well with others. Especially other children. I also find entitled idiots, narcissists, and self-righteous assholes to be unbearable. So, I have a problem with most people.” </p><p>“Shouto,” Endeavor’s voice was full of warning and Moe found herself tensing up, even though he hadn’t directed that sharp tone at her specifically.</p><p>Shouto didn’t even look at Endeavor in response. He actually turned back to Moe and met her gaze, smiling, “But you seem interesting. I think we’d get along just fine.”</p><p>Before she could respond to that, Endeavor asked, “What do you say, Burnin’? Do you accept?”</p><p>Moe had a feeling that if she asked for a minute to really think it over, Endeavor would simply ask someone else. He didn’t have time to deal with her indecision- he probably was already getting behind on work because he had to do this at all. She didn’t want to babysit, but bodyguarding…</p><p>And if she did this, she’d certainly have more opportunity to interact with Endeavor! There was no way she wouldn’t stand out to him if she was directly responsible for the safety of his son. Her chances of being hired later at his agency would definitely shoot up! </p><p>Decision made, Moe bowed deeply, “Please allow me to look after the welfare of your son, Endeavor! You can entrust his safety to me!” </p><p>“Good,” Endeavor said, “Shouto, be a good boy and stay with Burnin’ today. She’s in charge of you while you’re out of my sight.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” Shouto said. He had set down the award again, though on a lower shelf. He walked over to Moe and held out his hand to her. “Let’s go,” he said, “I’m bored.”</p><p>Moe straightened up and uncertainly took Shouto’s right hand. It was cooler than she had expected it to be but that was fine. She smiled at him, “Let’s go back to the lower levels, okay? I need to report to my supervisor so she doesn’t get upset that I'm missing.” </p><p>Shout nodded. Moe gave another quick bow to Endeavor as she excused herself but he was already tending to something on his desk. He waved them off without looking up. </p><p>Moe led Shouto away by the hand. She bowed slightly to Fire Fox who had stepped into the hallway between the offices. The heroine nodded to her and gave Shouto a strange look before she stepped into Endeavor’s office and shut the door behind her. </p><p>Moe let out a sigh when she stepped onto the elevator with Shouto. This was not <em>at all </em>how she expected the day to go. She looked down at the boy, who stared straight ahead, his expression bored. “Um,” she said, “What do you like to do, Shouto?”</p><p>Shouto blinked and looked up at her. “Crime,” he said.</p><p>“Eh?” Moe gasped, “What?”</p><p>“I’m joking,” he said, his expression not changing at all, “I like to read books and watch television and burn things.”</p><p>Moe sighed in relief. “Oh I get that,” she said, “I like those things too.” She patted nervously at her hair, “Though the burning thing is usually accidental.”</p><p>Shouto nodded, looking the tiniest bit sympathetic. “Sometimes things just catch fire, don’t they? I understand.”</p><p>“Yeah,” she said. “So you have a fire quirk?”</p><p>“I do,” he said. And then he lifted his left hand as a fist. Deep red flames danced briefly across his knuckles. “Pretty, isn’t it?”</p><p>“Woah,” she said, “You have a fire quirk just like Endeavor! That is so cool! He must be so proud of you!” </p><p>Shouto shook out his hand and the flames disappeared. “I guess. He wants me to be a hero like him.”</p><p>“That sounds amazing,” Moe said, “You could be a crime-fighting duo! You could have matching outfits and hero names and work together here at the agency! Endeavor Hero Agency would become the best agency in the city for sure!” She bounced on her toes a little, tickled pink at the idea of Future-Shouto and Endeavor teamed up together. “Villains and evil-doers wouldn’t stand a chance against you!”</p><p>“...Evil-doers?” Shouto repeated.</p><p>She beamed at him, “That’s right, evil-doers! Ne'er-do-wells! Villains and bad guys! Criminals and vagabonds!” </p><p>“A vagabond isn’t inherently bad,” Shouto said. “And no one really says evil-doers.”</p><p>“They certainly do,” Moe said. The elevator stopped and the doors opened, even though they weren’t yet on their floor. She sort of recognized the man who stepped in. He wore a very nice suit and he arched an eyebrow as he looked from her to Shouto and back. Moe shuffled to one side, or at least tried to. Shouto wouldn’t budge at all so she ended up letting go of his hand to stand behind him. “Um, excuse us,” she said to the man. She was pretty sure he was on the public relations team. She hadn’t met any of them yet- she wasn’t supposed to leave the bottom floors unescorted and Endeavor’s office was certainly higher up than she had ever gone before outside of the first tour of the building.</p><p>Shouto stared at the man. It was a bit rude but Moe felt uncertain about telling him not to. </p><p>The man stared back at Shouto and then slowly looked up at Moe, “You’re an intern, yes?”</p><p>“Yes sir,” she ducked her head, “My name is Burnin’, sir.”</p><p>“And this is…?” He arched an eyebrow, gesturing slightly towards Shouto.</p><p>“You can call me Todoroki,” Shouto said to the man. </p><p>The man’s eyes widened considerably, “Ah. I see. Todoroki-kun-”</p><p>“Todoroki-san,” Shouto corrected. </p><p>There was a pregnant pause. Moe fidgeted uncomfortably, “Shouto,” she said quietly, “That’s not how that generally works-”</p><p>“Do I look like I give a shit?” Shouto said icily. “My name is Todoroki-san to all the people in this building, as far as I’m concerned. If they don’t like it, they can simply not address me at all.”</p><p>“Oh,” Moe said, “Um.” She looked at the man who, for some reason, didn’t seem particularly upset by this declaration. He looked kind of amused, actually, giving a slight smile as he pushed his glasses up.</p><p>“I see,” the man said, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Todoroki-san, I am Saionji Buncho, I work within the public relations department as head of our digital department. I manage your father’s online presence as well as the website and other digital aspects for the Agency.” He held out his hand to shake.</p><p>Shouto shook Saionji’s hand. “Well met,” he said, “I’ve seen some of the articles put out about Father, are those your work as well?”</p><p>“Those would be a collaborative effort between my staff and the publishing department. I am on the editing team.”</p><p>Shouto nodded. </p><p>“Will you be here for the whole day?” Saionji asked.</p><p>“Yes,” Shouto said. “I’m accompanying Burnin’ for the day.”</p><p>At that moment, the elevator stopped again and the door opened. Moe gave Shouto a gentle pat on his shoulders. “This is our floor, Shouto,” she said, “I mean, um, Todoroki-san.”</p><p>Saionji gave a polite bow to Shouto, that strange little smile on his face, “I’m glad to hear that. Enjoy your day, Todoroki-san, I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.”</p><p>Shouto gave him a little frown but allowed Moe to usher him out of the elevator. She let out a breath as the doors closed and headed down again, leaving them on the second floor. </p><p>“Let’s hurry,” she said, “Okay, Todoroki-san?”</p><p>“You can keep calling me Shouto,” he said as he reached up and took her hand again. “I’ve decided that’s fine, but everyone else has to call me Todoroki-san.”</p><p>Moe blinked a few times and then smiled brightly at him. “Okay, Shouto!” </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“You know there’s a daycare here, right?” were Fire Fox’s first words once the door had shut behind her, “You shouldn’t usurp an intern just to watch your kid, Endeavor.”</p><p>Without looking up from his paper, Endeavor said, “And I would like the daycare to not be burnt down so that others may continue to use it, Fox.”</p><p>“Is his quirk that unstable?”</p><p>“No,” Endeavor said, “His quirk is just fine. He just hates children.”</p><p>When she was silent for more than a few seconds, he looked up at her. She was frowning at him. “Hates them enough to burn down a daycare?”</p><p>“I’d really rather not chance it,” Endeavor said, “Is there something else you need or do you want to continue to gossip about my son?”</p><p>Fox tapped her cheek with one perfectly manicured nail. She gave him a sly smile, “He’s a cute kid, Endeavor. He’ll be a pretty face for the agency when he’s older.”</p><p>He appreciated that she immediately assumed Shouto would be a hero. It helped appease the ice that formed in his guts at the idea of trying to convince Shouto to become a hero <em>and </em>to join his agency. “We’ll see,” was what he actually said. </p><p>Fox laughed a little and then walked further into the room, switching the subject to something work-related. Thank goodness.</p><p>Endeavor needed a distraction from the dilemma that was Shouto and work was just the thing.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“What, exactly, am I looking at?” Enji asked.</p><p>It was the end of the day and he was back in his office to wrap up a few details before collecting Shouto and heading home. He had both Kuno and Saionji in his office, which was <em> never </em>a good sign. Either the shit had hit the fan somewhere and he hadn’t noticed it or they had some sort of nefarious plot they wanted him to approve of for the sake of his image. </p><p>“We want to do a piece on your son,” Kuno said. She always cut right to the point and now was no exception, “He’s a natural in front of the camera, Endeavor, and he’s absolutely precious. Right now an article about you being a father as well as a hero and some shots of you with him would do wonders to soften the public after that incident last month. People like that you’re hard on crime, Endeavor, but you seem too cold in other ways and they don’t like that.”</p><p>Enji looked from Kuno down to the tablet she had handed him. It was in a gallery view of over a dozen candid images. Each one of Shouto.</p><p>He tapped one at random and stared at it. It was a picture of Shouto held in his arm the way he had carried him into the building, the flames low on his head and shoulders, Shouto watching as he spoke to a handful of sidekicks. That had been this afternoon when he’d gone to collect Shouto for lunch, to get him his damn ravioli, and he’d gotten after some of the sidekicks who were loitering while on the job. </p><p>As he swiped to the next image, Kuno began to speak again, “Not all of them are useful to the article we have in mind, but they could be useful later. The two of you create a striking image and we want people to see that and to envision a future where Todoroki-san is a pro-hero at your side. A father and son combination that they can trust and-”</p><p>“What did you call him?” Enji asked.</p><p>Kuno blinked, surprised at the interruption, but it was Saionji that stepped up to answer.</p><p>“He said it is his preferred form of address. Any attempts to correct him haven’t succeeded in the least,” Saionji said, “He has such a strong personality, Endeavor, surely you’ve noticed how stubborn he is.”</p><p>“....I have,” Enji said. “So you just went along with what he wanted instead of correcting him.”</p><p>Saionji gave a little smile, “Sir, I’ve been working with celebrity personalities for many years. There’s nothing I could have said to change his mind. And there’s no reason to spoil our relationship right away. He became decidedly frosty with those who addressed him more informally, to the point of not responding at all to them. </p><p>“Besides, there’s no harm in it. It’s just an honorific.”</p><p>Kuno jumped in, not giving Enji a moment to reply or speak at all, “Look through the pictures and pick out the ones you are comfortable sharing, Endeavor. We’ve got a draft for the piece that we’ll finalize tomorrow. As I said, sir, this article could really soften the public up towards you and you need that right now.”</p><p>Enji tapped his fingers on his desk. If it were any of his other three children he knew exactly what he would say. But Shouto was different from the rest of them, not least of all because he barely acted like a child in any case. Enji had a different future envisioned for his youngest son; the earlier he could cultivate an image beloved of the people, the better.</p><p>He flipped through to another picture. This was one of Shouto sitting at a desk in the bullpen for the interns and sidekicks. He wasn’t sure whose desk he sat at, but he was typing away at the computer there, expression focused. Burnin’ was in the shot as well, leaning against the desk, writing on something on a clipboard. As young as Shouto was, as young as Burnin’ was, they looked like a couple of kids playing pretend at an office. Shouto even had a mug beside his computer and the next image after this one showed him drinking out of it. It was emblazoned with Endeavor’s logo, of course, which made the playing-pretend feeling all the stronger.</p><p>A third image after that showed some other intern at Shouto’s other side, clearly asking him something while Shouto sipped from his mug. What were they talking about? What had been going on here? </p><p>He reached over to the phone on his desk and lifted up the handle, pressing a button and then putting it on speakerphone. The phone rang for a moment before a young woman asked, “This is the bullpen, Blaze Powder speaking!”</p><p>“Blaze,” Enji said, “It’s Endeavor. Do you have Burnin’ and Shouto down there?”</p><p>“Oh yes sir,” she said, “Shall I have them head up your way?”</p><p>“Yes,” he said. “That will be all.”</p><p>“Yes sir!” she exclaimed and he hung up on her. </p><p>“What have you decided, sir?” Kuno asked. Her expression was carefully even, but he saw the mad gleaming in her eyes. </p><p>“I will review the images,” he said, “and make sure that Shouto is comfortable with them. This isn’t approved until I say so. Don’t leak a damn one of these, even on accident.”</p><p>“Of course sir,” Kuno said primly, “I’ll have the current draft sent to your email as well.”</p><p>“Endeavor,” Saionji asked, “I overheard Todoroki-san say he would be returning to visit again tomorrow. Is this true?”</p><p>Enji sighed. He set down the tablet. He’d review those images in a second, right now he needed to finish this conversation. “He will be,” he said, “In fact, I will be bringing him by every day this week.”</p><p>Kuno and Saionji shared a look; he smiled and she lifted up an eyebrow. </p><p>“Why?” Enji asked. </p><p>“All those shots are candid,” Saionji said, “But we’d like a few that are taken properly- one or two with you as well, sir, if you can find the time. If we have the rest of the week, we can plan a proper photoshoot and get our best people involved to ensure the highest quality work.”</p><p>“A photoshoot,” he repeated.</p><p>“Exactly sir,” Kuno said, “It would be best scheduled in a day or two- we’ll need some time to figure out the exact outfits and what kind of background. We’ll need you for at least a handful of shots, though you’ll be fine in your heroic uniform.”</p><p>Enji sat there for a moment, looking past them, trying to imagine asking Shouto to do a photoshoot. There was <em>no way </em>that he would agree. Shouto didn’t do anything if he had nothing to gain and there was no benefit for him. Enji would be the one reaping the rewards of such pictures.</p><p><em> That’s not entirely true, </em> he thought distractedly to himself, frowning, <em> it will be the foundation of his public reputation. If the people know about him and become his fans, maybe that can add pressure to convincing him become a hero.  </em></p><p>Enji’s frown deepened. <em> No that wouldn’t work. He has no need for public approval or acceptance. He won’t care if people love him or hate him or want him to be a hero.  </em></p><p>“I’ll consider it,” he said, “He’s still very young. I’m uncertain about this whole thing because of that. You know I haven’t put out much information on my family as of yet and I value my privacy.”</p><p>“We understand that,” Kuno nodded, “We respect that, too. However, rumor has it that you would like Todoroki-san to become a hero like yourself, to perhaps be a partner in your very own Agency. If that is the case, it can never be too late to engender the goodwill of the populace.”</p><p>“There is a rumor of that?” Enji asked, “He has been here for less than one day, Kuno.”</p><p>“All of the sidekicks and interns believe you’ve brought him here to familiarize him with the Agency. As an informal introduction of sorts,” Saionji interjected, gesturing a little with one hand as he spoke, “Why, he’s even dressed up like a little businessman, Endeavor. The image of a boss taking his son to introduce him to the people he will one day lead in his company is very clear, sir.”</p><p>“And of course you would wait until the boy was five years old so he’s somewhat self-sufficient and has developed his quirk before you brought him in for the first time,” Kuno said, “You can’t have him shadowing you properly until he’s older, of course, but having him stay at the agency with a contingent of sidekicks and interns to protect him takes care of two problems at once. They get to know him; he gets to see how his father’s Agency works.”</p><p>Enji didn’t know where to begin with this. It had, briefly, crossed his mind that introducing Shouto to the members of the Agency would help inspire him to become a hero, but it had been a wisp of thought and hadn’t had a lot of hope behind it. </p><p>He rubbed his temple with one hand. Dealing with Shouto and all the uncertainty around the boy gave him <em>such </em>a headache.</p><p>He didn’t look up when he heard the door to his office swung open without an announcement. After both Kuno and Saionji had greeted his son - And they really did call him Todoroki-san <em>to his face. </em> Just what <em>was </em>the boy even thinking?- he raised his head and looked at Shouto.</p><p>Enji tried to see his son through the lens of someone who had never actually spent any time with him. His dark blue vest had shiny black buttons on the front and he wore a black tie beneath it. Not a bowtie, a true tie. It wasn’t even a damn clip-on tie; Enji hadn’t tied it so he had to assume Rei had done so. At some point, he had unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and never pulled them back down. He stood in a relaxed, confident posture, so unlike a typical child; when they were so young, they seemed barely aware of the position of their own bodies and tended to stand any which-way they felt like.</p><p>His red and white hair was still perfectly in place and framed his face which was, even to Enji, very cute. He was a cute kid, really. It was such a shame about everything inside of him that made him a little monster. </p><p>Well, first thing first- </p><p>“Burnin’,” Enji said, looking up at the girl. She straightened up immediately, though her posture had been fine enough before. She saluted him, too.</p><p>“Yes sir?”</p><p>“Thank you for your hard work today. I’ll take care of Shouto from this point on. You’re dismissed.”</p><p>She visibly hesitated and glanced down at Shouto. Shouto didn’t move a muscle from where he stood, watching Enji.</p><p>“As you say, sir,” she lowered her hand and then dipped a bow, “Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I learned a lot while Shouto was in my care. If you need my assistance again, please let me know!”</p><p>Enji nodded. <em> So she gets to call him Shouto while everyone else calls him Todoroki-san. Has he... made a friend? </em>He dismissed her with a wave and she hurried out of the room. </p><p>Shouto looked from Kuno to Saionji and then leveled his stare on Enji. “Now that she’s gone, can we discuss why you have two heads from the PR department in your office, Father?”</p><p>“They are trying to convince me to let them publish an article about you,” Enji said. “Complete with a father-son photoshoot and candid photos.”</p><p>“Oh?” Shouto’s brows lifted, “Really?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Have they taken some pictures already?”</p><p>“Yes.” Enji lifted up the tablet, “I have copies right here.”</p><p>And then, to his surprise, Shouto practically bounced over to him, going around the side of the desk and to his side. “Let me up, old man, I want to see them,” Shouto said, tugging on his arm.</p><p>In his shock, Enji picked Shouto up automatically and set him on his lap, where Shouto immediately grabbed the tablet and began to look at the pictures. He flipped through them quickly, as he said, “These are pretty good, actually. Wow, I am <em> adorable.”  </em></p><p>“Yes you are,” Kuno said. She smiled as she said it and Enji knew that she thought she had this in the bag now. “That’s why we think right now would be the best time to begin the foundation of your public image, Todoroki-san. Your business attire is charming, you yourself are very cute, and with our photographers and editors, we can make you the darling of the entire city.”</p><p>“Just the city?” Shouto asked, lowering the tablet slightly so he could look at the woman over it.</p><p>Kuno’s face lit up at that question. Enji’s stomach dropped. He suddenly remembered something that he’d heard Shouto say but hadn’t meant anything at the time: <em> I already know what I want from this life. </em> </p><p>He’d been too preoccupied with their conversation to even think to ask-</p><p>“To start with, yes,” Kuno said. “Of course, all publications will be both digital and physical. You’ll begin an online presence with this as well. This article is your announcement to the world, Todoroki-san. It is an introduction.”</p><p>“Hmm,” Shouto lifted the tablet again, staring at it. Enji looked down as well. </p><p>The picture displayed showed Shouto curled up in a plush office chair, his legs tucked under himself, his head resting against the corner where the back and arm met. Someone had draped a blanket over him and he was drowsing, his expression relaxed. He looked innocent and harmless.</p><p>Shouto set down the tablet. “I want to see the article before it goes out,” he directed his gaze to Saionji, “I want to see every article about me before it’s published.”</p><p>“Of course,” Saionji said, as if he weren’t talking to a five-year-old boy at all, “If you don’t have an email set up already, we can either prepare one for you with the agency or have you stop in to review the file directly in the offices.”</p><p>“The latter will work for now,” Shouto said, “I don’t have a personal computer yet and I’ll be around frequently enough that it won’t be bothersome to visit in person.”</p><p>Enji felt… He felt <em>something. </em>He wasn’t sure what it was he felt. It wasn’t as though his mind was clouded. It wasn’t as though he didn’t understand what was happening in front of him. It wasn’t as though he was even upset about it. Shouto cultivating a public image that portrayed him in a positive light could only be good for them both in the long run.</p><p>And yet he still felt like he was climbing a mountain with two hands on a rope that was sliding past his fingers. He wasn’t sure when the rope would run out but he couldn’t hold on tightly enough to stop it from slipping. Yet he didn’t feel as though he were the one falling, either. </p><p>It was more like someone held onto the other end of the rope and they had jumped off of the cliff and he was left holding the rope, to catch them before they hit the bottom. But he couldn’t <em>see </em>them or the bottom.</p><p>Enji came back to the conversation at the sound of Kuno’s voice saying, “-address, Endeavor?”</p><p>All three of them were looking at him, Shouto half-turned to look up. Enji looked at his son. He’d never seen him excited about anything in his life besides pasta and yet there was a lightness to his expression that was bright and eager. He looked back at Kuno and said, “Repeat that again for me?”</p><p>Kuno nodded, “I said, it seems that Todoroki-san is on board with the photoshoot and the article. I’d like to proceed with the project, sir. Do you have any concerns we need to address?”</p><p>“No,” Enji said. He couldn’t see the bottom of the cliff, yet, but he knew who was on the other end of the rope now. “But I reserve the right to address new concerns as they come up.”</p><p>“Of course, sir,” Kuno said. She looked more excited than Shouto did. This concerned Enji, somewhat, but he knew that she could handle this situation and herself. She wouldn’t let this get out of hand. No matter how Shouto acted, he was still a five-year-old boy. Kuno would be careful with him simply because of that.</p><p>“We’ll schedule the photoshoot in two days,” Saionji said, “Three at the latest. We’ll start with a small piece and some candid shots on social media to spark interest and then release the full spread later. I’ll have the questions for your interview sent over for review as soon as they’re prepped.”</p><p><em> Now it includes an interview? </em>Enji thought. The rope was still sliding through his fingers, though only in fits and jumps. </p><p>Shouto nodded, “Good. Anything else?”</p><p>“Not at the moment, Todoroki-san,” Kuno said. Both she and Saionji bowed, “If you two will excuse us, we need to get started promptly.”</p><p>“You’re dismissed,” Enji said. He watched as they turned and left the room, Kuno first and Saionji on her heels. </p><p>He sat there, staring out at nothing, the shock of the situation settling firmly on his shoulders. Shouto didn’t shimmy off his lap, as he half expected him to. Instead, he picked the tablet back up and began to flip through the images some more.</p><p>“I was sure you would resist this,” Enji found himself saying as he watched Shouto looking at the photos of himself. </p><p>“Why do you think that?” Shouto asked, flipping to the next image. This one was of him standing near a window, looking out at the street below. He was holding the mug with Endeavor’s logo on it.</p><p>“You’ve said yourself that you won’t be a hero,” Enji said, “And all of this is tied up to my Agency.”</p><p>Shouto snorted. “You’re so short-sighted,” he said, “My image might start here with your Agency, but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay here. There’s a whole wide world out there, Father, and I’ve got no reason to hide in the shadows and let it pass me by.”</p><p>Enji could hear the grin in his son’s voice as he said quietly, as if more to himself than to Enji, “There’s no reason to hold back at all.”</p><p>A chill ran down Enji’s spine. The rope had slipped out of his fingers entirely.</p><p>And he still couldn’t see the bottom of the cliff.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Something Must Be Done</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i should mention that i modified the todoroki kids' ages by about two years each- so instead of being 4 years apart, they're 2 years apart.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This had to be the worst argument yet.</p>
<p>Even from the bedroom that he shared with Natsuo, Touya could hear his parents screaming at each other. More than once he’d heard a crashing sound like things were being thrown, and it made him hold his siblings tighter each time. </p>
<p>He sat wedged in the corner of the room, his back up against the wall, with Fuyumi on his left and Natsuo on his right. Natsuo was sobbing heavily, his face pressed against Touya’s stomach. Fuyumi was crying as well, but silently and against the tops of her own knees as she curled up tightly. </p>
<p>Touya wasn’t crying. He hated the fighting, hated the screaming, hated the way his siblings wept but it was a distant hatred that couldn’t touch him anymore. He had an arm around his two middle siblings but what he stared at were the bandages on his hands. They were the only ones visible, though he had bandages all the way up his arms and across his chest. There was even one on his face. The injury beneath it was tight and painful, stretching every time he spoke or moved his mouth so Touya kept quiet and didn’t smile or frown or anything.</p>
<p>He could hear his mother’s voice rising sharply before being cut off as something crashed loudly from whatever room they were fighting in now. Natsuo cried hard, saying something inarticulately through his tears. Touya stroked his hair to comfort him and said nothing. </p>
<p>All three of them jumped when the door to the bedroom slid open abruptly. </p>
<p>Touya tensed up when he saw Shouto step into the room, look around, spot them, and walk over. </p>
<p>He pulled his other siblings tighter against himself, though he knew they would be no shield for the way that Shouto’s eyes stared right into his soul. After he’d made his decision to end it all last month, he’d done his best to avoid Shouto because he’d been so afraid Shouto would look at him and somehow know. Shouto could do that, somehow. He knew everything.</p>
<p>Shouto came to a stop, standing in front of them, looking at them. He was six years old but he looked so much older somehow. It was his eyes; it was the way his face was set into a flat expression; it was the adult styled clothing he wore; it was in his posture. </p>
<p>Touya wouldn’t meet his eyes. He stared down at his own knees. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Shouto said.</p>
<p>Touya blinked. He felt his siblings look up, heard their flood of tears start to calm down. Touya cautiously looked up. “Sorry?” he rasped. His voice hadn’t properly come back yet. Inhaling smoke and fire wasn’t good for his lungs, after all.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Shouto said, “I’m sorry. I know how to live with <em>that,” </em>he gestured with one hand to the door, through which the sounds of argument were still plainly heard, “So I hadn’t bothered to fix it. And I didn’t spend enough time with the three of you to realize what kind of damage they were doing. So I’m sorry I didn’t do anything about it before.”</p>
<p>“What?” Touya said, “There’s nothing we <em> can </em>do.”</p>
<p>Shouto tilted his head to the side, eyelids lowering slightly, “Don’t be so despondent, Touya, there’s always something we can do. Why, you tried to do something about this for yourself, didn’t you?”</p>
<p>Touya flinched back, fingers tightening on the shoulders of his siblings. They didn’t complain, though. They just leaned harder into him. He didn’t know if they knew what had happened, didn’t know if anyone told them the details, but ever since he’d gotten back from the hospital, they’d been so clingy. It was like they knew he’d almost left forever and they didn’t want him to leave at all. </p>
<p>Shouto sighed, “Sorry, that was uncalled for,” he muttered, “Look. I’m not good at this comforting thing. I didn’t- I don’t have experience in this.” He looked away from them, his eyes distant and his mouth turned down in a frown, “I didn’t have siblings before. Not proper ones. And after a while…” He reached up and rubbed at his cheek. It was something Touya had seen him do before, running his fingers over a particular spot on his cheek like it was different somehow. </p>
<p>He wasn’t the one with a scar on his face, though. Touya would be the one with scars, though for now, they were still healing wounds. </p>
<p>“What are you going to do?” Touya asked.</p>
<p>“I’m going to put an end to this fighting,” Shouto said, turning back to them again, “I’ve tolerated it too long and it’s clearly had a negative effect on the three of you.” </p>
<p>Touya’s eyes widened as he stared at Shouto. Shouto’s idea of ending something usually involved burning it to ashes. Touya knew he shouldn’t want that to happen to his parents but… If they were gone…</p>
<p>“Oh don’t look at me like that,” Shouto said, “I’m not going to kill them. For one thing, it’d be too obvious that it was me. For another, you three still need Mother and I need Father still. I’m just going to strongarm them into getting a divorce.”</p>
<p>Touya blinked a few times. “Oh. How?”</p>
<p>“Easy,” Shouto said. He had his mouth open to say another thing but there was another crash from somewhere in the house and he instead turned to the door with a frown. “You know what, instead of telling you how, I’m just going to go do that.”</p>
<p>Then he turned around and headed back to the door.</p>
<p>For a moment, Touya stared at his back as he walked away, too surprised to stop him. Then he started to try and stand, dragging Natsuo and Fuyumi with him. “Come on,” he said to them, “Come on, we’re going to go watch this.”</p>
<p>They looked at him with wide eyes, tears still on their faces, but when Touya took their hands and led them out of the room, they came with him. He could feel them trembling and feel how tightly they held onto him- it hurt his hands with how hard they held onto him, but that pain was something Touya deserved for almost abandoning them so he didn’t say anything. </p>
<p>He followed Shouto down the hallway and towards the family rooms of the house, the kitchen, and a sitting room, where the fighting was concentrated. Touya kept the other two back against the wall, staying where they could only see Shouto as he stood in the doorway, and listened. </p>
<p>His father was the one currently shouting, saying something about how the three of them were weak because they had inherited his mother’s ‘condition’. Shouto gripped the door to the dining room, where the shouting was coming from and shoved it open hard enough that the wood let out a sharp crack when it hit the wall and bounced back slightly. </p>
<p>After the door opened with a crash, Father stopped shouting and silence descended. </p>
<p>Into that silence, Shouto spoke. </p>
<p>“I’ve indulged in your antics for long enough,” Shouto said, sounding somehow both disgusted and disappointed at the same time, “But clearly things have gone too far. It’s time to end this disaster of a marriage and go your separate ways.”</p>
<p>He stepped into the room and out of sight. Touya edged across the wall and peered around the corner of the door. Fuyumi, at his side, peeked one eye over to watch as well. Natsuo clung to Touya’s front, sniffling softly against his shirt.</p>
<p>“Shouto,” Father said, “This doesn’t concern you. Go back to your room and-”</p>
<p>“Shut up,” Shouto said frostily. Touya’s eyes widened. He’d overheard some of the conversations between Shouto and Father over the years, but it still surprised him that Father actually shut up when Shouto told him to. “Touya almost fucking died,” Shouto continued when Father went silent, “He almost burned to fucking death from his own fucking quirk. If you think that has nothing to do with the way you two interact and if you think my brother nearly killing himself has nothing to do with me then you might as well just walk away from this right now because you clearly don’t understand how a fucking family works, Enji.”</p>
<p>Father’s back straightened up, his shoulders pulling back and his hands tightened into fists at his side, “Shouto-”</p>
<p>“I said <em>be quiet,” </em>Shouto spoke over him again, “You speak out of turn again and I will cut your tongue out of your goddamn head. Is that clear?”</p>
<p>Father closed his mouth.</p>
<p>Mother looked uncertainly between the two of them.</p>
<p>Touya wondered how Shouto would manage to cut Father’s tongue out- would he use a kitchen knife? Were they sharp enough for that? </p>
<p>“As I was saying,” Shouto continued in a somewhat more relaxed tone, “This marriage is over. Your fighting leads to nothing but a continuous cycle of abuse and control over each other. I’d be more tolerant of it if this was your version of foreplay, but all you do is fight and then self-isolate and avoid each other until something else comes up that you have to fight about. You don’t even have the decency to plot the death of the other one so you can move the fuck on with your life.”</p>
<p>Father looked resigned at Shouto’s words, but Mother looked surprised, even horrified. She hunched in on herself a little more, hands clasped at her chest. “Shouto, we wouldn’t- we wouldn’t do that- That’s-”</p>
<p>“Horrible, illegal, a sin, yeah yeah,” Shouto waved his hand dismissively, “I know you two don’t have it in you to have it out properly. Also, be quiet, Mother. I’m not finished.”</p>
<p>She pressed her lips together tightly, lifting one hand to rest against her mouth as if that would help her keep quiet. </p>
<p>“This is the modern age,” Shouto said, “It’s not difficult to get a divorce. People won’t even question it if you tell them you’re separating because Father works too hard with his heroic bullshit and Mother can’t stand the pressure of the fame. You both want your children to be spared that spotlight, and so you’re divorcing for the sake of your three dearly beloved children. </p>
<p>“You both can get very nice lawyers and have a very pleasant separation because this will give you both what you want. Mother, you can be free from Father’s control, be able to take care of the children, pursue your own interests and get some fucking therapy for yourself and the kids. Father, you can focus on your work and your plans for your future without having to try and manage Mother’s life or the others. There’s enough money for you both to live comfortably while separated. Sell the house, have Mother move into a more modest place near the schools for the children and Father can get a place closer to the agency or some other little condo somewhere if he wants to have space from the city.”</p>
<p>There was silence after he said all that. Mother and Father looking at each other, frowning, looking at him, uncertain. Father’s brows were furrowed tightly together.</p>
<p>Touya stepped from behind the wall and into view. There was something missing from Shouto’s plan. Touya had never heard Shouto refer to himself as one of ‘the children’ or ‘the kids’. And he certainly hadn’t counted himself as one of the ‘three beloved children’. “What about you, Shouto? Will you stay with Mother and the rest of us?”</p>
<p>Shouto half turned towards him. “No,” he said, “I’ll stay with Father.”</p>
<p>Touya hated the way Father’s expression relaxed as if he were pleased with this plan all of a sudden. He tightened his hand into a fist and resisted the urge to catch fire, to shout at them. “Why?” Touya asked, “He’s- He’s why I- Why would you choose to stay with him?”</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, he’s hinged his entire future on me,” Shouto said, “So I have to be the one who stays with him so that the rest of you can go free.” He turned back to face their parents.</p>
<p>Touya stared at the back of his youngest brother. He was only six years old but you wouldn’t know it by the way he spoke and acted. Touya had never understood his brother and, for many years, hadn’t much liked him either. He had always thought Shouto thought himself better than them because he was Father’s favorite, because he had the best quirks, because he knew so much and was so much more mature than them somehow. And yet here he was, sacrificing himself for them. </p>
<p>Touya had read books about noble heroes who sacrificed themselves to save others. They always did it for the ones who they loved the most, for family or dearest friends or the ones they were in love with. If Father was the dragon who ate people, Shouto was the knight who was holding him back so that Touya and their siblings and their mother could be free. </p>
<p>He hadn’t realized Shouto cared so much about them. He’d never acted like it before. </p>
<p>“I’ve said my piece,” Shouto said, folding his arms over his chest, “I’ll hear what you have to say now.”</p>
<p>Mother took several steps towards Shouto, speaking softly and reaching for him, “You don’t have to stay with your father. He’s just as terrible to you as he is to us, Shouto, I know you don’t really want to be with him. You should be with your siblings and with me.”</p>
<p>“Mother, don’t deceive yourself,” Shouto said, “Father will fight you tooth and nail for me and you know it. If you want this separation to be peaceful, give up any hope of keeping me with you. You don’t need me anyway, you have the other three and they’re more than enough to keep you busy.”</p>
<p>“He’ll just force you into training like he did with Touya,” Mother continued, “And if he pushes you as hard as Touya, then you might hurt yourself like he did.”</p>
<p>Touya gripped his arm tightly, looking away from them as she said that. <em> Hurt himself, </em>she said, as if what he’d wanted to do was as little as that. </p>
<p>“When have you ever known Father to force me to do anything?” Shouto asked, “Besides, Touya and I are not the same. We need different things and can endure different things.”</p>
<p>“But Shouto, I’m so worried about leaving you with him,” Mother admitted softly. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”</p>
<p>“What I want? Don’t concern yourself with what I want,” Shouto gave a strange little laugh. Touya watched as his shoulders trembled and he shook his head back and forth. “Mother, please, I can handle Father just fine.”</p>
<p>Mother finally went quiet, her eyes shining with tears as she looked at Shouto and then up at Touya. He stiffened at that look, anxiety filling him. Was she always going to look at him like that? Like he might topple over and break like a glass vase? </p>
<p>Touya looked away from her.</p>
<p>“Anything from you, Father?” Shouto asked.</p>
<p>“No,” Father said.</p>
<p>That answer surprised Touya, who blinked at his father. Really? He had nothing to say to any of what Shouto said?</p>
<p>“I thought so,” Shouto said, “Why argue when the dice land in your favor, right?” He didn’t wait for a reply from Father, though. He turned around to face Touya again and smiled, “If Mother doesn’t take care of you properly, tell me and I will talk to her, okay?”</p>
<p>Touya nodded even as Mother gave out a shocked little gasp. “We’ll… We’ll still see each other sometimes, right?”</p>
<p>“I’m sure we’ll have shared holidays or something,” Shouto said, “The lawyers will hammer out the details of visitation rights so that people aren’t at each other’s throats over it.” He did another one of those dismissive hand waves, “It’ll work out as best as it can, considering.”</p>
<p><em> You didn’t have to do this for us, </em>Touya thought to say, but he knows that’s not true. Shouto was the only one who could do this for them, the only one who knew what to say and how to change things. He should’ve talked to him about it sooner. He shouldn’t have thought about escaping it all on his own. </p>
<p>He blinked a few times, feeling tears welling up for the first time in months. He couldn’t get them to stop by blinking, though, so he rubbed at his eye with the back of one bandaged hand. “Sorry,” he said quietly, “I’m sorry, Shouto. I’m so weak-”</p>
<p>Suddenly Shouto stood in front of him, looking up at him with a strange expression. He looked partially angry and partially worried. “Stop apologizing for how weak you are,” he said, reaching up for his hand and pulling it down from his face, “All weakness can be used to your advantage, you just have to work out how to do it. You’re smart, Touya, you can figure it out. You survived one of the worst pits that people fall into, so you have a second chance to find your way in the world. Take that chance, Touya.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Touya felt the tears falling and he couldn’t stop them. He hadn’t even felt like crying when Mother found him and saved him. He hadn’t felt like crying in the hospital when Mother wept at his side. He hadn’t felt like crying when he came home and Natsuo and Fuyumi had cried and hugged him. But he couldn’t stop himself from crying now as Shouto held his hand. “I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>Shouto tugged on his hand and Touya automatically sank down to his knees. His breath caught hard in his chest as Shouto put his arms around his shoulders, hugging him. Touya knelt there, tears running down his cheeks as his youngest brother, who had never hugged him or anyone in the family before, squeezed him tightly. “You’ll do better,” Shouto muttered to him as he held him, “You have your second chance so you have to do better with it. That’s how second chances work, Touya, you do better. I know you can do it, okay?” </p>
<p>“Okay,” Touya cried as he turned his face to hide it against Shouto’s shoulder. He held onto his little brother and cried. “Okay.” </p>
<p>Shouto’s hand was so gentle as he stroked Touya’s hair. </p>
<p>Touya cried harder.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Meeting All Might</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t often that Enji had a one-on-one conversation with All Might. </p><p>They would periodically meet and talk on large-scale jobs, usually in coordination with the police, but those were held at neutral locations such as the police headquarters. He could recall only one other time that All Might had stepped into his personal office for a private conversation and it had been many years ago. </p><p>So, even though he was focused on the current subject- a resurgence of ‘quirk shuffling’ within the underbelly of the city that needed to be dragged to the light and eradicated- there was a part of him that was still surprised that All Might was here. From how passionately All Might discussed tactics for hunting down the ones doing the shuffling, Enji got the sense that this subject was particularly important to All Might. He didn’t sound like he personally knew anyone affected, but he was deeply concerned about the damage being done.</p><p>With so much attention given to the conversation, Enji didn’t notice when the door to his office swung open until All Might noticed it and stopped talking. They were standing in his office, Enji leaning against his desk instead of sitting at it, All Might facing him with the door to the side.</p><p>Without any knock or announcement of entry, Enji knew immediately who it was stepping into his office, even without looking over. He still did look over, because All Might did, and sighed a little when he saw Shouto step in. </p><p>His son’s gaze slid across both of them, lingering for a moment on All Might before settling on Enji. He let the door swing shut behind him and adjusted the tablet in his arm. He wore the same thing he always wore when he was at the agency; a white button down shirt, a black tie, either a vest or a suit jacket. Today it was a suit jacket the same black as his tie. </p><p>At eight years old, he looked no less bewilderingly adorable in his suit and tie. Visitors to the Agency always remarked on his strange look when they saw him for the first time. However, Enji was quite used to it by now.</p><p>“You didn’t have a scheduled meeting,” Shouto said to Enji, “Are you almost done here or is this going to take some more time?” </p><p>“Do you have something urgent you want to talk about?” Enji asked, ignoring the way All Might looked strangely at them. </p><p>“It’s nearly seven,” Shouto said, “I already called to have dinner delivered.” His eyes very briefly flicked to All Might, “Will you be joining Father for dinner, Mister…?” </p><p>“This is All Might,” Enji said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “All Might, this is my son, Shouto.”</p><p>“Call me Todoroki-san,” Shouto said, immediately putting up that impersonal barrier around himself. He smiled a little at All Might, but the shift in his gaze back towards Enji put him on edge. That was not a smile about being happy to see All Might. That was a smile that laughed at Enji’s expense.</p><p>All Might chuckled awkwardly, “Quite an interesting child you have here, Endeavor. It is a pleasure to meet you, my boy.”</p><p>Enji snorted. That was one way to avoid picking one form of address over another. From the sound of Shouto’s chilly silence, however, it wasn’t appreciated. Enji lowered his hand with a second, silent sigh. Shouto’s expression was closed off. “Will you be staying for dinner or are you leaving now, sir?”</p><p>Enji stared at Shouto. He didn’t call <em> anyone </em>sir.</p><p>
  <em> What the hell does that mean?  </em>
</p><p>“No, no, I won’t be staying for dinner,” All Might said in his typically cheerful manner, as if the ice in Shouto’s stare meant nothing to him, “However, until the food arrives, I do need to continue this conversation with your father…” He looked meaningfully at the door.</p><p><em> Oh no don’t do that- </em>Enji straightened up suddenly, “Shouto-”</p><p>Shouto smiled. It was not one of his friendly smiles. It was the one he gave where it looked like he was about to bite you. “Oh, don’t mind me, sir. Just pretend I’m not here. After all, I am just a little boy with no understanding of the adult world. Surely whatever you’re talking about will go right over my head.”</p><p>“Shouto,” Enji interrupted before All Might could say anything else, “Thank you for reminding me about dinner. Would you mind waiting outside for us to finish up? It will just be a little longer before All Might and I are finished.” </p><p>Shouto turned his head woodenly towards Enji. His gaze was razor sharp. “Shall I close the privacy blinds so you won’t be disturbed while you two<em> finish up?”  </em></p><p>“That won’t be necessary,” Enji said, trying not to clench his teeth.</p><p>“We’ll be done quickly enough,” All Might said, which really didn’t help. </p><p>“Oh really?” Shouto said, “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by that. Even the greatest heroes thrive under the attention of the public eye. It makes sense that those at the top would develop voyeuristic tendencies.”</p><p>All Might looked from the boy to Enji, confusion visible beneath his smiling expression. <em> What is your son talking about? </em>His eyes said.</p><p>“Thank you for your trouble, Shouto,” Enji said firmly, “And for ordering dinner. And for concerning yourself with our heroic duty. But would you please give us privacy?” A little over-abundance of gratitude sometimes appeased Shouto, so Enji hoped he’d take the offered olive branch and leave without any real difficulty. </p><p>“Of course, Father,” Shouto bowed to him. When he straightened, his face was a perfect mask of childish delight, “Take all the time you need with your gentleman caller. I’ll keep dinner warm for you.” He abruptly turned and stepped out the door. </p><p>Enji put his hand over his face again, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Shouto was a curse placed on him for everything wrong he had ever done in his life. </p><p>There was a long silence after the boy had left and All Might spoke cautiously into it, asking, “...Gentleman caller?”</p><p>“It’s nothing,” Enji said gruffly, “Shouto just gets these ideas in his head that are, quite frankly, wildly incorrect sometimes. Don’t mind him.”</p><p>“He is a very...interesting child,” All Might said, the pause in his sentence a clear point where he searched for something polite to say about Shouto.</p><p>“You don’t have to sugar coat it,” Enji muttered. “I know what he is like better than anyone else. But let’s get back to the topic at hand.”</p><p>All Might hesitated but then nodded. They had work to do, after all, and not even the distraction of Enji’s bizarre child could keep them away from it for long.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Enji was at his desk, writing down some notes and expanding on the steps he and All Might had discussed together when the door swung open silently again. He glanced up in time to see Shouto looking around the room as if searching for something while he brought over a foil covered dish.</p><p>“Something missing?” Enji asked, setting down his pen. </p><p>“You know, I thought there would be more disturbance in the room after you two were done finishing each other off,” Shouto said pleasantly, “But the furniture is all intact and all your papers are in place and there isn’t a stain of anything anywhere. I’m quite impressed with how cleanly you can fuck, Father.”</p><p>Enji was glad he put down his pen because he would have certainly snapped it as his hand tightened into a fist. “Enough of this nonsense, Shouto,” he leaned forward, “Your perverse interpretation of my interactions with All Might are disgusting and completely false. I will not stand for it.”</p><p>Shouto set the container down on Enji’s desk with a smile. “You certainly won’t stand for it at all,” he said, “You’re sitting down.”</p><p>Enji rose to his feet in a rush, hands planted on his desk.<em> “Enough, </em>Shouto.”</p><p>“Do you really think it’s perverse?” Shouto asked. His face was a mask of that half-smile he sometimes wore that showed nothing but faint amusement. Enji hated this expression the most. He could never tell what the boy was really feeling or thinking beneath this look.</p><p>“Of course it is,” Enji said. </p><p>“Which part?” Shouto asked, “The part where it’s All Might? Or the part where it’s you and another man?”</p><p>“Both, obviously,” Enji snapped. “I am tired of the innuendo. It wasn’t cute when you came up with it and it fails to be anything more than disgusting and obnoxious to me now.” </p><p>“Don’t get upset with me, Father,” Shouto said lightly, “You’re the one obsessed with destroying the man utterly. I’m only trying to enlighten you that there is more than one way to put someone beneath you. All Might will never be your stepping stone, but if you handled him better, you <em> could </em>bed him.”</p><p>“Be quiet!” Enji shouted. Flames rippled across his shoulders and his hair flared into life. He took in a deep breath and let it out between his teeth in a long, drawn out hiss. The flames slowly subsided back to nothing but heat trapped beneath his skin. </p><p>During this entire outburst, Shouto didn’t so much as bat an eye. </p><p>“I have no intention of ever doing such a thing with him or with any man. You will cease bringing it up, Shouto. Or I will never buy you any pasta again.”</p><p>“Oh ouch,” Shouto said, with that irritating smile, “I surely shall starve.”</p><p>“Do you have anything else that you wish to pester me about or are you quite done now, Shouto?” Enji said through his gritted teeth.</p><p>“Hmm,” Shouto put his cheek in his palm and rested his other fist under his elbow. “Let me think. I’ve brought you dinner. We talked about your repressed emotions. You had an outburst of homophobia… is there anything else we need to go over? I was sure there was something else.”</p><p>“Leave,” Enji ground out. “There is nothing else.”</p><p>“Okay, okay,” Shouto turned on his heel, “I’m sure if it was important I’ll remember.” He walked to the door and Enji slowly sat back down. He heard the door open and rubbed at his temple. </p><p>“Oh yes, there was one thing,” Shouto called back to him.</p><p>Enji didn’t look up, “What is it?”</p><p>“I’ve decided to become a hero after all,” Shouto said, “You may not be able to step on All Might to reach the top, but I <em> certainly </em>can. And I think I’d like to. I’ll start training next week.”</p><p>Enji jerked his head up, “What?”</p><p>Shouto didn’t answer, though, he’d already stepped through the door and let it swing shut behind himself. For half a second Enji sat there, staring at his son through the glass as he walked away.</p><p>Then he lunged to his feet and went to the door, throwing it open wide. “Are you serious, Shouto? You’ll become a hero?”</p><p>Shouto stopped. He half turned and looked at Enji. “I have high standards with regards to training, old man. If you don’t rise to meet them, I will find someone else to train me. Next week. Be prepared.” Then he turned and walked away again.</p><p>Enji stared after his son, filled both with elation and dread.</p><p>Shouto would become a hero, just as Enji had always wanted him to be!</p><p>Shouto would become a hero, and no one would be able to stop him once he was.</p><p>Enji stepped back into his office and shut the door. After a moment, he lowered the privacy blinds, blocking out his office. He was trembling and not exactly sure why. This was all he’d wanted from Shouto- the drive to become a hero, the best hero, to crush All Might- </p><p>But he knew his son. He was not selfless in any way, as a good hero should be.</p><p>Enji sat down at his desk and pulled his dinner over. “Better a merciless hero than a sadistic villain,” he muttered to himself, “I’ve just got to train him right and then get him into the right school. He needs moral guidance and ethical training. I’ll have him go to Yuuei. They’ll set him on the straight path.”</p><p>Yuuei would be perfect for Shouto.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Burnin' Returnin'</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>unrelated to everything about this update except for the timing of it's posting, it's been a busy fucking day at work today and I Am Exhausted but still stuck here for at least a few more hours. so enjoy some more burnin'</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Moe’s heart soared in her chest when she stepped into the Endeavor Hero Agency as a proper sidekick for the very first time. The lobby was bustling with activity, even so early in the day, and she had to navigate through people heading across the room in order to reach the front desk.  </p>
<p>“Welcome to the agency, Burnin’,” Kamiya, the woman sitting behind the counter, smiled brightly at her, “It’s good to have you here as one of the sidekicks at last.” She wasn’t a sidekick herself, but just one of the staff members at the Agency that kept things working smoothly.</p>
<p>“I’m so happy to be here,” Moe exclaimed, “I was just going to head up to the bullpen to check in but I thought I’d ask to make sure there isn’t anything else I need to do first.”</p>
<p>“You should be clear to go,” Kamiya said. “They’ll give you your badge up there.” She glanced over to the clock on the wall, “You’ll want to hurry up, too. Todoroki-san starts his morning training session soon and you won’t want to miss that!”</p>
<p>Moe blinked several times, “Morning training session?”</p>
<p>“Oh yes,” Kamiya said, “He’s working so hard to follow in Endeavor’s footsteps! The gallery fills up pretty quickly, though, so you’ll want to hurry!’</p>
<p>Moe bowed politely, “Thank you for letting me know! I’ll be sure to hurry. Goodbye!” She hurried away as Kamiya waved her off. </p>
<p>Moe skipped the elevator, which had just taken off for the upper floors, and went right for the stairs. She hurried up them two at a time, thinking about little Shouto. She hadn’t seen him in almost two years now- not since the last time she’d interned at Endeavor’s Hero Agency. She would’ve seen him more recently than that, but her last few internships she’d taken at other agencies. </p>
<p>Originally, she’d never planned to do that. She only wanted to work here, so why bother with interning somewhere else? It had seemed like a waste of time better spent elsewhere, but now that she’d done it, she was grateful for it.</p>
<p>Of course, it meant she’d not seen Shouto for a while, or how things had changed at the agency since her last stay. Her interview the week before had been too brief to really see any changes; it had been half an hour and she’d walked out with the job. </p>
<p>Moe made it to the bullpen in good time and not out of breath. She’d trained hard to be in her best shape and a couple of flights of stairs weren’t much to deal with. She hurried from the stairwell to the main room and paused at the threshold, looking over the room that had become so familiar to her. Her eyes welled up with tears as she recognized quite a few faces. This place was like a second home to her. It really was. </p>
<p>She blinked furiously to keep from crying and headed over to the main desk where Ignitor managed the other sidekicks. He was a tall, thin man with dark hair that stood on end, the tips of which were a bright red. He wore a mask and his heroic suit, proudly displaying the agency’s logo on his shoulder. He looked up as she approached and quirked a smile with one-half of his lips. “Burnin’. You finally made it back.”</p>
<p>“Yes, sir,” Moe grinned, “It’s good to be back.”</p>
<p>“Thought we’d lost you when we heard you’d gone to intern with Uwabami. The limelight not hot enough for you?” </p>
<p>Moe shook her head. “I wanted to broaden out my horizons a bit,” she said, “Get some experience and see what else was going on out there. But I always planned on coming back here.”</p>
<p>“Well good,” he said, “Here’s your badge.” He handed over a plastic card, “And we’ll get the insignia set up for your suit soon enough. You’re on squad six with Hotstep, Ember, Tonic, and Gronk.” </p>
<p>Moe took the badge and bowed, “Yes sir!” She knew two of those people already from her previous internships and had a good feeling about working with them. “Um, Kamiya-san at the front desk said that Shouto is training in the morning? Is it okay if I go watch?”</p>
<p>Ignitor blinked a few times and then rubbed at his chin, pulling at his beard, “Oh you mean Todoroki-san. Yes. I almost forgot you called him by his first name. He’s grown quite a bit since you were last here. Our little agency prince does quirk training in the morning up in the blasting room. You’ll want to hurry if you want to get a good view. It fills up quickly. He’s quite good.”</p>
<p>“He practices every day and people still go to watch?” Moe said in amazement, “He must be amazing!”</p>
<p>“It’s not so common to have two quirks in one person,” Ignitor said, “And the fact that he is Endeavor’s own son makes watching him popular. Of course, only staff members are allowed into the viewing area. He doesn’t tolerate strangers watching.”</p>
<p>“That sounds just like him,” Moe laughed, “Thank you for the badge, sir. I really want to see Shouto so I’ll be going now.”</p>
<p>He waved her off, turning back to his papers as she hurried away. </p>
<p>This time, she took the elevator, since she had quite a few more floors to ride up and it was opening as she walked towards it. Several other sidekicks got on at the same time, one of which was Hotstep in her bright outfit of shining red heeled boots, an orange sailor skirt, and a yellow ribbon in her dark hair. </p>
<p>“Burnin’!” Hotstep grinned and pulled her in for a hug, “Look at you! You made it!”</p>
<p>“Not only that,” Moe pulled out her badge, “We’re on the same squad!”</p>
<p>“Really?” Hotstep exclaimed. She hugged Moe again, who happily hugged her back, “This is the best news! Ember is going to be so glad! I can’t wait for you to meet Tonic and Gronk, too. They’re a riot!”</p>
<p>The elevator stopped. Hotstep took Moe by the hand and pulled her out, “Come on, Gronk said he was going to save us a spot to watch Todoroki-san’s training!” </p>
<p>Moe followed her friend through the crowd of people, squeezing her way through until they reached the back of a very tall man with a serious body modification quirk. He had scales, ridges on his head instead of hair, short spikes along his spine, and a thick, heavy-looking tail that rested a few inches on the ground. He looked over and down at them, his yellowed eye crinkling as he grinned sharp teeth. “Hotstep,” he said, “You made it.”</p>
<p>“Hey Gronk,” Hotstep said, “This is Burnin’ she’s been an intern here a few times and she’s finally back for good as a sidekick! She’s the new girl for our team that they told us we were getting!” </p>
<p>“Wicked,” Gronk said, “Welcome to the crew, Burnin’,” he gave her a thumbs up with a huge scaly hand, the tips of his fingers showing large claws. “Ember dipped out for the viewing, but Tonic is already here.” </p>
<p>A younger man with long blond hair and a faintly avian looking face looked around Gronk. He blinked several times, head tilting to the side, “You’re the new one? All right. You look killer.” He also gave a thumbs up. </p>
<p>Moe gave them returning thumbs up, “Thanks! I’m super excited about working with you guys! Has Shouto started his training yet?”</p>
<p>There was a double blink from them both and then Tonic said, “Oh you mean Todoroki-san. Only Endeavor calls him by his first name. Yeah, he’s in the warm-ups right now.”</p>
<p>Moe just smiled away her uneasiness. After all, Shouto had told her that he didn’t mind her calling him Shouto. Until he said otherwise, she’d keep calling him Shouto. </p>
<p>She and Hotstep moved around Gronk to stand with Tonic. They were at the corner of the gallery, looking down at the training room that was empty save for two people.</p>
<p>One was a middle-aged man that Moe didn’t recognize and the other was Shouto. They both wore similar clothes, white shirts, and dark pants- clothes to train and fight in- and they both were moving through similar stretching routines. “Who is he training with?” Moe asked quietly. </p>
<p>“That’s Master Oshima,” Tonic whispered back, “He’s from down south. He’s got an iron-hard quirk that makes him resistant to temperature shifts, so Todoroki-san can use his quirks while training against him.”</p>
<p>“They’re starting!” someone in the crowd exclaimed. There was a surge of excited voices and then a hush as the training battle began below.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It started with quirkless hand-to-hand fighting. </p>
<p>Shouto was smaller than Oshima for he was only a ten year old boy, but he clearly had trained a lot to keep up with the older man. They went back and forth across the center of the field, their fight a fluid, almost living thing. Moe watched in awe of Shouto’s skill and maneuverability. He was so nimble, so flexible. </p>
<p>She could tell that when he got older, he’d be even more dangerous than he was now. He was limited because of his size and his strength, but Shouto’s father was Endeavor, after all. There was no way he wouldn’t grow up big and strong. </p>
<p>The back and forth lasted for quite a while before Oshima made a cutting gesture and they broke apart. They backed up from each other, Shouto visibly breathing deeply, and then Oshima spoke. Moe couldn’t hear anything through the glass, but she felt the excitement of the crowd rise. </p>
<p>“The quirkless part of the match is over,” Hotstep whispered beside her, “Now Todoroki-san is really going to put on a good show!”</p>
<p>Oshima and Shouto backed up a few more feet from each other and then stopped, bowed, and slid into battle stances. Moe gasped as she saw dark flames rise along Shouto’s left arm and shoulder. The tips of his red hair began to curl up and flicker like flame. </p>
<p>She waited with bated breath for them to begin, hands clasped tightly together in front of herself. Then, without warning, Shouto lunged into action.</p>
<p>Moe had seen a lot of flame-based battles. She had studied them in class and after school. She’d watched countless videos of Endeavor and Fire Fox and all the other fire heroes fight. There were even some really old videos of the first flame quirk users, who mixed martial arts into their movements so seamlessly they looked like they were bending the flame out of the air.</p>
<p>There were hints of this in Shouto’s fighting style, the flash and flare of flame rippling through the air as an extension of his punches or kicks. He coaxed fire into existence along his fingertips and his arm, dark red flames that writhed off of his body almost like they were alive. She’d seen him use his quirk before, once or twice, very briefly, so she knew that the edges of his flames were that dark red. The lighter red, almost pink in color, inner layer of the flame is what caught her off guard. Moe knew quirk flames were all different after all hers were the green of burning copper, but she’d never seen flames like Shouto’s before. </p>
<p>There were obstacles on the field, wood and concrete and other materials, used to help simulate combat situations out in the real world, and sometimes when Shouto’s flames hit these things, they smoldered or caught fire. Sometimes, they seemed to burn up and disintegrate.</p>
<p>She’d never seen flames so strong, so deadly, so tightly controlled.</p>
<p>But Shouto’s skill with his fire was only half of what he could do.</p>
<p>Moe had never seen Shouto use his ice before. Not once in all the times she met him had he ever so much as used it to make an ice cube so every move he made with his ice was fantastic and new to her. She crowded close to the window, gasping in delight at the wonders he made with his ice.</p>
<p>Walls and pillars, spikes and ramps, spears, and even what looked like a sword. He used his ice as armor and as a weapon. He used his ice to control the position of his opponent, to make the ground trecherous, to build walls that blocked off escape routes. More than once he caught the foot or arm of his Master, ice crawling up with a patience that Moe knew wasn’t because his ice only moved slowly. That creep was all Shouto. He was prolonging this fight for as long as possible. </p>
<p>His fire and ice worked in concert with each other, two opposite halves that made one complete whole of unbelievable power. </p>
<p>It was all over before she realized it. Oshima cornered by ice, fragments of it clinging to his clothing, and flames flickering low on the floor, almost smoldering, a tempting escape route that Oshima avoided.</p>
<p>He surrendered by relaxing his stance and placing his fists together, knuckle to knuckle.</p>
<p>Shouto did similarly and bowed. </p>
<p>As he bowed to his master, his flames slid across the floor and over to the ice. When the red flames lit up the ice and began to melt it, Moe saw purple reflections in its crystalline surface. It was so pretty to see and she wasn’t the only one who <em>ooh-ed</em> at the sight. </p>
<p>“That was amazing,” Moe said, “Shouto’s so incredible!”</p>
<p>Oshima gave a returning bow to Shouto, though not as deeply, and walked off of the field.</p>
<p>Shouto, on the other hand, turned around and looked up to the gallery, which exploded into applause and cheering. Moe cheered along with the rest of them. Shouto smiled as he bowed to the gallery, which made people shout even more. </p>
<p>Then he straightened up, his gaze moving the windows as he began to turn away. He stopped abruptly and did a visible double-take, blinking a few times. </p>
<p>Moe could <em>swear </em>he was looking at her, but there were a lot of people in her corner. Still, she waved at him. Shouto nodded back and continued out, smiling.</p>
<p>She had always thought he would remember her. Sure, she’d been gone for two years and, yes, she had first met him when he was very little, but Shouto wasn’t like other kids. He had a good memory for people and faces and he had spent a lot of time with her.</p>
<p>Still, she didn’t suggest to the others that he’d nodded to her as they gossiped about who he must have noticed. Hotstep walked arm and arm with her back out of the gallery.</p>
<p>“Let’s take the stairs,” she said, “The elevator is going to be packed!” </p>
<p>Moe nodded and the four of them headed back down to the bullpen together. It had been wonderful to see Shouto doing so well and certainly amazing to watch him fight, but she was a sidekick now. She had work to do and she was happy to do it.</p>
<p>Shouto clearly didn’t need to be watched over for protection anymore. He was entirely capable all on his own. It was a proud but lonesome realization; she was going to miss having him around. </p>
<p>She should’ve known better, though. Shouto didn’t let go of the things he liked.</p>
<p>And he had always said he liked her well enough.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a ripple of chatter that rose and then fell abruptly around Moe, who looked up from the bag of Sidekick gear that Hotstep had been helping her stock up when she noticed it. Hotstep was inside of the cupboard beside her, pulling out some more temporary cuffs for using on villains, but she turned to look, clearly sensing something as well. </p>
<p>Shouto stood about twenty feet back, wearing his usual white shirt, tie and, today, a vest. He smiled a little once Moe looked up. Moe blinked a few times and then hurriedly stood. “Shouto!” she exclaimed.</p>
<p>Shouto smiled a little more broadly. “Burnin’,” he said, “Welcome back.”</p>
<p>“Thank you so much!” She bowed deeply, “I’m so happy to be back. I really missed being here!”</p>
<p>“I missed you as well,” Shouto said, which made Moe look up sharply, and, behind her, Hotstep gasped. Shouto continued on, “It just hasn’t been the same with you gone. Ignitor told me you’re on squad six?”</p>
<p>“Yes!” Moe nodded, “With Hotstep, Gronk, Ember, and Tonic!”</p>
<p>“Good,” Shouto said, “And how were your other internships?”</p>
<p>“I learned a lot, Shouto,” she said, “It was just like you said. All the other agencies have a lot of similar goals but different ways of going about them. I took a lot of notes and did my best to learn everything I could.”</p>
<p>“Excellent,” Shouto’s smile broadened, “I’d love to have a long discussion with you later about the things you learned if you don’t mind. Please bring those notes as I’d like to see them.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Moe said, “Um, I’ll need to bring in my notes so it’ll have to be tomorrow.” </p>
<p>“That’s fine,” Shouto said. “Let’s do it over lunch, shall we? Tomorrow is pasta day.” </p>
<p>Moe giggled. Oh, Shouto and his weird love of pasta. “That sounds perfect.” </p>
<p>“Now, I have to go meet with Saionji so I can’t shadow you today,” Shouto said, checking his watch on his wrist, “But there is one more thing I’d like to take care of before I go. Come here please.”</p>
<p>Moe nodded and obediently came over. He gestured for her to get lower and so she crouched down in front of him. </p>
<p>And then Shouto hugged her, which was a bit of a surprise. Except it wasn’t, not really. He had hugged her at least once every time she had been an intern and watched out for him. Though usually, he dragged her off to the vending machines so no one would see him do it. She’d always wondered if he thought hugging was shameful for some reason. After all, she’d never seen Endeavor hug him. Sure, Endeavor had carried him from time to time when he was six, but he’d stopped doing that by the second time Moe had been at the agency. </p>
<p>Moe hugged him back, matching the tight squeeze he gave her with his little, but strong arms. He relaxed into the hug, just a little, and let out a sigh.</p>
<p>“You’re my favorite one here,” Shouto whispered to her, his voice so soft she almost didn’t hear him, “And that’s not going to be an easy place for you to be, but I know you can handle it. You have my full permission to do whatever you need to do to rise to the top of this heap of idiots, Kamiji. I look forward to your blazing ascent.”</p>
<p>Moe blinked a few times. Shouto pulled back from the hug and briefly put his hands on her shoulders. He gave her a sly smile, “Good luck, Burnin’.”</p>
<p>Moe nodded seriously, “Thank you, Shouto. I won’t disappoint you.”</p>
<p>“You better not,” he said, “I hate having to restart things.” Then he pulled away and straightened his tie and smoothed out his vest. Moe stood back up and bowed to him. </p>
<p>He nodded to her, flicked his gaze to Hotstep, who squeaked and bowed as well. He nodded to her too and then turned and walked away.</p>
<p>Hotstep didn’t even wait until he was fully out of earshot before she hurried over and grabbed Moe’s arm. “Burnin’? What was the deal with that? What the hell?”</p>
<p>“Shouto was just welcoming me back to the Agency!” Moe said with a bright smile.</p>
<p>“But he hugged you!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, he did that before when I watched over him.”</p>
<p>“He doesn’t hug people,” Hotstep said, “He barely even shakes hands anymore! There was a visiting hero two months ago that tried to pat him on the shoulder and got his hand frozen!”</p>
<p>“Oh woah, really?” Moe gasped.</p>
<p>“Yes really! But he didn’t ice you!”</p>
<p>“Well, he initiated the hug,” Moe said, “You can’t force Shouto to do anything he doesn’t want to do. And I don’t mind hugging him. I think he needs more hugs, actually.”</p>
<p>Hotstep’s eyes became shiny with tears, “Oh Burnin’ you’re right, he does need more hugs. I’ve never seen him hug anyone since I got here. And he spends all his time at the Agency so he doesn’t have any friends of his own age. I really hope that Endeavor can convince him to go to Yuuei- you know there’s rumors that he’s really trying to convince him to go. Todoroki-san doesn’t want to waste the time in classes, he says, because he knows everything already and he would rather work on his quirk training, but Endeavor keeps trying to convince him anyway.”</p>
<p>Moe tapped her cheek thoughtfully, “Maybe I can talk to him about it. Going to a hero school teaches more than math and literature and all that, after all. Heroic lessons are so different from regular school. You can’t learn that from a book or reading online. If he understands that there has to be a human element to the class, maybe he’ll be more likely to go.”</p>
<p>“Can you really convince him?” Hotstep asked, “Does he like you that much?”</p>
<p>Moe shook her head, “I don’t think anyone can convince Shouto but Shouto. What I can do is give him some information he might not know about or hasn’t considered. He’ll make the decision on his own.”</p>
<p>“Wow,” Hotstep said, “You know him really well!”</p>
<p>Moe blinked a few times and then shrugged, “I had to watch him when he was younger. Shouto’s always been the same Shouto. The only real difference between then and now is he’s taller! He’s really grown up too! Do you think he’ll be as tall as Endeavor one day?”</p>
<p>“Oh, he’s gotta be,” Hotstep said, “There’s no way he won’t!”</p>
<p>Moe grinned. “Of course.”</p>
<p>Tonic wandered over to them then, his own gear bag slung over a shoulder, “Hey, Burnin’, Hotstep, you two ready to buzz out of here?”</p>
<p>“Just a minute,” Moe said, “Sorry, we got distracted.”</p>
<p>Tonic nodded and glanced the way that Shouto had walked off from, “I didn’t realize he liked you so much.”</p>
<p>Moe laughed a little, “I’m just happy he remembered me!” She turned and went back to her bag, smiling mostly to herself. </p>
<p>She was <em>so </em>glad to be back. Things were going to go great!</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Entrance Exam</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>its a short one, but then again, it doesn't need to be a long one, ykno?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Now that I think of it, you’re Endeavor’s kid, aren’tcha?” The voice of the kid wearing the number 41 on his chest is loud and brash, just like his quirk, his whole self. It’s visible all over his excited face, “Man, you were amazing!”</p>
<p>Xanxus tilted his head to one side, breathing deeply, flexing the ice from his right side, and looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Children were just so <em>damn </em>annoying. But at least he could talk to a teenager semi-intelligently. “Good eye,” he said, “I am his kid.”</p>
<p>It was the hair. The hair made him so recognizable. He’d thought about dying it more than once, just so people would stop <em>staring </em>at him. </p>
<p>“My name is Yoarashi! Yoarashi Inasa,” 41 said with a broad grin. </p>
<p>“Todoroki,” Xanxus said. Fourteen years and the name finally rolled off the tongue. Fourteen years and he was going to have to get used to <em>children </em>being <em>familiar </em>with him after all he’d done to avoid public schooling. Wonderful. </p>
<p>“I’ve waited and worked really hard to get here to Yuuei! I’m so excited to attend!” 41 continued. He was following Xanxus as Xanxus walked away from the finishing line. There had to be a proctor around here somewhere, right? That loud-ass one with the hair? “Plus, it’s so great to meet another person with the hot spirit of a hero!”</p>
<p>Xanxus stopped. He turned and looked at 41. He had a couple of inches on Xanxus, which was just the first of many things about him that pissed him off. Xanxus met his gaze and held it. 41’s smile faltered a little bit.  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Xanxus said, “A hot spirit has little to do with heroism. It’s all about image and ability, Yoarashi. Passion just gets you killed.”</p>
<p>“That simply is not true,” 41 disputed, “Without passion, there is no life! To be passionless is the worst. One cannot be a true hero if they are without the burning fires of life!” he stopped abruptly, eyes widening.</p>
<p>Xanxus held up his left hand. His flames boiled along his skin, the dark red of the storm captive on his own fingers. “These are my burning flames, Yoarashi. They don’t care who you are or what you’re made of. They are the purest form of destruction.” He concentrated and the flames tightened down, slinking from fingers to his palm. Beneath the thin line of the dark red flames, the pink and red core brightened. He reached up with his right hand and pulled the loose button off the top of his shirt. He flicked it directly into the flames.</p>
<p>The tiny bit of metal danced on the dark red flames for a moment before sinking into the core. Then it began to bubble and melt. In seconds it evaporated. </p>
<p>Xanxus leaned forward and blew on his hand. The flames flickered towards 41, who showed at least the barest level of intelligence and flinched back. </p>
<p>But the flames only evaporated away, the way Xanxus had wanted them to. He dropped his hand and gave 41 a vicious smile. “If passion is fire and fire is destruction then it must be that passion is destruction.”</p>
<p>“No- That-” 41’s smile was long gone now and his expression was clouded over, confused, and clearly distraught. “Passion’s the flame of life-”</p>
<p>Xanxus laughed and turned away from him, “You keep thinking that if you want. But don’t be surprised when your passion burns you up alive, Yoarashi. You’ll have no one to blame but yourself for that.”</p>
<p>41 was silent as he walked away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Strange and Cruel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was something off about Todoroki Shouto.</p>
<p>He’d looked normal enough the first time Momo saw him at the Recommendation Entrance Exam, though he stood apart from the others wearing a curiously blank expression. A lot of the other students had been very excited, visibly pumping themselves up for the parkour-race challenge. Some taller boy who was <em>very </em>enthusiastic had clearly honed in on Todoroki and approached him before the races, though Momo had been in a separate group so she had only seen him, not overheard anything.</p>
<p><em> Something </em>must have happened during the race, though, because afterward the excitable boy was giving Todoroki a hard look and avoided him. </p>
<p>Todoroki didn’t look any different from before. Not even one hair out of place. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>They had both passed the exam, but she only found out about that on the first day of class. She had stepped in, swallowing her nervousness and wearing what she hoped was a friendly expression and, looking around at all the new faces, she had almost immediately picked out Todoroki from the rest. Even though everyone else in the class had their own unique and individual styles that made them super easy to remember and pick out from afar (well most of them anyway) Todoroki was the one she knew <em>of </em>the most and so she’d seen him and recognized him and, sort of, gravitated towards him.</p>
<p>It wasn’t like she <em>knew him, </em> knew him. And it wasn’t like she was the only one who noticed him either. He was a semi-regular figure in the teen magazines these days, already considered one of the most handsome future-pros in the city, if not the nation. He had a striking image with his two-tone hair, heterochromatic eyes, and his stylistic choices when not in the school uniform. Though he had to wear the school uniform like the rest of them, he wore it <em>differently </em>somehow. </p>
<p>A lot of the pictures she’d ever seen of him he’d been in suits with ties or vests, the kind of tailored clothing a rich businessman would be wearing, with only the very rare image of him in something casual- though that was basically a vest-less look or an off-white shirt. </p>
<p>Momo had known that Todoroki was her age. She’d known he wanted to be a hero, too. He’d done an interview in the last year that had revealed everything down to his blood type, birth date, and favorites. He was practically a teen idol. </p>
<p>So she, and anyone else who read the same sorts of magazines she did, about up-and-coming pro-heroes and teen-heroes and related topics, all recognized Todoroki. But she was the one who ended up with a seat near him in class.</p>
<p>She did her best to clamp down on her nervousness. They were all students together. They were future pro-heroes. They were all here to learn the same things. Momo had her own sort of notoriety, though she was much less publicly known than Todoroki was. Her family’s wealth and quirks sometimes landed them in tabloids, most of the time slinging rumors based on nothing. So Momo understood what it was like, sort of, but not really. She’d never done a magazine spread of her wardrobe with an interview on what kind of heroic work she wanted to do or what it was like having a hero for a parent. Todoroki had.</p>
<p>She didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of Todoroki. She figured he had to have high expectations, considering he’d been privately tutored (as it said in the article) and his father was the number two hero. </p>
<p>Right away he proved himself to be excellent in bookwork and in physical training; he was fast, flexible, and strong; he completed the schoolwork quickly and, from what she noticed from his papers occasionally, never got less than ninety-five percent on anything. </p>
<p>He wasn’t particularly chatty, but she’d picked up on that from the entrance exam. Todoroki didn’t move through life like the rest of them. He walked above it, his gaze on something in the distance while his footsteps were already so high above them that she honestly wondered if he was some sort of prodigy and not just very dedicated to his goals as he’d said in the interview article. </p>
<p>And then, as she settled into the routine of class and relaxed her nerves around him and the others, Momo began to notice things about Todoroki.</p>
<p>And she began to think that he was a very strange boy.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki had <em>opinions </em>on pasta. </p>
<p>It was the second week of school, a Tuesday, and Todoroki had picked up lunch with the rest of them. He was a quiet boy, yes, and standoffish, true, but he usually ate lunch with the rest of the class, just at the very far end of the table they chose. Momo wasn’t sure if it was because he was used to sitting near her in class or if he actually liked her in his own quiet way, but he usually sat next to or across from her. She didn’t mind that too much; he wasn’t weird about that.</p>
<p>But he was weird about pasta. </p>
<p>He had complained about the quality of the pasta, the temperature, the flavor, the presentation, the shape of the noodle, and more even as he picked at his plate. The school had served two lunches that day, a pasta dish and some potato-based dish, both of them not traditionally Japanese, and Todoroki hadn’t even looked at the potato dish.</p>
<p>He sounded like he honestly hated the pasta dish, but he ate every bit of it, complaining the whole time. Momo hadn’t tried to argue his points; <em> she </em>didn’t know anything about pasta. All she had said was that she’d never really been a big fan of it, never had a dish she liked that much, and Todoroki had stared at her as though she’d just said she kicked puppies. </p>
<p>He seemed very offended about her lack of interest.</p>
<p>So offended, in fact, that the next day he put a container on her desk and told her it was her lunch and she had better enjoy it. </p>
<p>Momo had hesitated to eat it- mostly because someone bringing you lunch in school was usually indicative of deeper affections than she had thought Todoroki had for her and she worried that this meant he was, well, <em> interested </em>in her. But Todoroki hadn’t stuck around to see her gush over the food and, later during lunch, had revealed that he had his own covered dish- though of a different type of pasta- and that he hadn’t made them himself. These were from a restaurant he liked. </p>
<p>Momo ate the pasta, even though Todoroki’s staring had made her a little uneasy, and told him honestly how she felt about it. </p>
<p>She liked it well enough, even though there was an unexpected kick to the sauce, and she hadn’t expected the smokiness of the pork, and this seemed to be enough for Todoroki.</p>
<p>Momo didn’t realize that this, somehow, made them friends until the next time Todoroki brought in a lunch -pasta again- and had brought her some as well. She tried to tell him he really didn’t need to, though she appreciated the thought, and he had given her this weird look, one brow arched, and said, “Eat it or don’t, it’s your choice. I don’t give a shit either way,” and then left her desk to sit at his own.</p>
<p>Momo hated to waste food, and they had some pretty intense quirk training that morning so she ended up so hungry at lunch that she ate all the pasta and half a school lunch besides. She’d desperately needed the calories.</p>
<p>And Todoroki looked pleased with himself if the fierce shine to his eyes meant anything.</p>
<p>That led her thoughts right to another strange thing about Todoroki. He was <em>so </em>proper and <em>so </em>well-mannered looking that whenever he swore, and swear he did, that Momo was always taken aback. He was just so delicate looking, at least in his face, and so aloof looking, as if nothing could affect him that when he swore, when his lip curled and he spat out a ‘ <em> fuck this shit’, </em> under his breath, Momo was <em>always </em>startled. </p>
<p>She’d honestly gasped the first time he said fuck in front of her, which had made him look at her with a tight, small smile. Momo wasn’t exactly raised in a swearing-free household, but swear words were few and far between at home. She could handle his swearing just fine; she didn’t really have a problem with it. It was that mean little smile he gave, a flicker of expression really, that made Momo upset after he swore and startled her. </p>
<p>He didn’t always give that smile. He only did it when she visibly reacted to his swearing. When she gasped or blushed or covered her mouth or anything at all really. He flashed that smile at her, there and gone again, and she <em>knew </em>he was amused by her being startled. </p>
<p>That bothered her. That really did bother her. She didn’t think that was a very nice thing to do and it made her uncomfortable to know he was amused when she reacted that way. It was unkind. </p>
<p>So she did her best not to be startled by his swearing. She learned to expect it. She learned to anticipate it. She learned to keep her blush under control and, eventually, roll her eyes at him.</p>
<p>When she managed that at last, Todoroki’s smile shifted slightly. It was hard to explain the shift, hard to explain that she somehow understood he was moving from laughing <em>at </em>her to laughing <em>with </em>her. As if her rolling her eyes and shaking her head at his swearing was somehow sharing something with him. </p>
<p>Todoroki was so strange. The flickers of emotion that came and went on his face were so quick. She would’ve missed so much if he didn’t purposefully turn to look at her at times.</p>
<p>She figured this had to be his way of being friendly. He didn’t do this with anyone else in the class. He ignored everything but a direct question and even those he was terse in replying. He gave the air like he didn’t have time for anyone. </p>
<p>Except for Momo, apparently.</p>
<p>She wondered if this made them friends. </p>
<p>She wondered if he was someone she wanted to be friends with.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Todoroki has no chill. </em>
</p>
<p><em> Which is kinda ironic, </em> Tooru thought as she crept forward on her perch of some rock half-buried in the loose earth. She’d found the spot to be both pretty secure and a great place to watch from. There was no way she could take on a bunch of thugs on her own and, by the looks of things, there was no reason for her to interfere. Just like with the first set of thugs who had been lying in wait for them, Todoroki had this all under control.</p>
<p>She watched as he encircled the dozen or so bad guys with a crackling wall of his dark red flames. They were sorta pink at the bottom, which was a strange color for flames, but since they were quirk flames and not normal ones, that wasn’t too weird.</p>
<p>Some of the bad guys looked at the fire, the rest of them were focused on Todoroki. </p>
<p>She couldn’t see his face, but she heard him clear as day as he called out to them. “If any of you can point out just how fucked you are and why, I’ll spare your life.”</p>
<p>Tooru stuck her finger in her ear and pulled it back out again. Had he said <em> spare your life? </em>That was a pretty hefty threat! </p>
<p>“You’re the one who’s fucked, kid,” one of the thugs said, pointing a really long knife at Todoroki. “All your fancy fire don’t mean shit if you’re cut up into pieces!” He then ran forward, shouting.</p>
<p>Or at least he <em>began </em>to run forward and he <em>started </em>to shout. He got about three steps before a whipcord of ice snaked across the ground almost faster than Tooru could see and ran up his body, freezing him in place. It spread over his body in a flash, making the sound of ice cubes cracking as they were dropped into water, and his shout cut out instantly. </p>
<p>In the sunlight, Todoroki’s ice had a pretty tint to it. From where she crouched, up above and from behind, it almost looked like the ice had wisps of purple flame in it. </p>
<p>“No one knows?” Todoroki asked, “Not one of you can tell me? How disappointing. What kind of criminals are you? Are you useless except as fodder?”</p>
<p>There was an uneasy shuffling and then one of the thugs called back, “Uh. We’re very fucked and it's because you got fire and ice?” </p>
<p>“Oh, so close,” Todoroki said. He shifted his hand in the air, a gentle motion that belied the ice that shot across the ground, starting from the already frozen guy, and froze the one who had just spoken. There was that cracking sound. Tooru caught her breath. She thought she could see a crack form along the man’s face along with the ice. But that couldn’t be. </p>
<p>“But not quite,” Todoroki said, “It looks like none of you have any clue what I’m asking about. So I’ll make this brief <em>and </em>painless. May you have better luck in your next life.” </p>
<p>He flicked his wrist and Tooru ducked down at the sudden and almost overwhelming chill in the air. She shivered uncontrollably, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. There was a cacophony of shouting and then the voices were replaced with the crackling of ice forming. </p>
<p>She looked up when the cracking finally stopped and saw Todoroki standing where he was, hands at his sides. </p>
<p>This entire group of bad guys was as frozen as the first group; Todoroki hadn’t even spoken to those ones. </p>
<p>She shifted, moving back so she could get off her perch, and found her footing on the loose rock and soil. Some of the dirt slid out of place, sending some pebbles tumbling down the hill. That rush of chill suddenly was back and Tooru let out a shriek as ice suddenly appeared on the ground beside her, the edge of it crusting on her shoes. It stopped abruptly and she looked up to see Todoroki looking at her, eyes wide with surprise.</p>
<p>“Todoroki!” she exclaimed, “You almost iced me!”</p>
<p>“How long have you been there?” he asked.</p>
<p>“The whole time,” she said, “I’m no match against like twenty guys with knives.”</p>
<p>“You really aren’t,” Todoroki agreed. He climbed up the slope to her and held out his hand. Tooru blinked a few times and then took it. He wore gloves along with his otherwise very simple uniform, but even through his glove and her own, she could feel the heat radiating from his left hand. “Come on,” he said, “Let’s regroup with the others.”</p>
<p>He led her off to the side and away, avoiding the frozen thugs. As they hurried away, his hand still holding tightly onto hers, Tooru asked, “How long are they going to be frozen like that?”</p>
<p>“Until someone comes and fetches them,” Todoroki said. </p>
<p>“What were you asking them?” she asked, “Why didn’t that guy get the question right? He said they were all screwed, after all, and they so were!”</p>
<p>“True,” he said, “But he didn’t answer the right reason why.”</p>
<p>“If it’s not because you got fire and ice, then what is it?” </p>
<p>Todoroki suddenly stopped and Tooru, not expecting that, bumped into him. He turned towards her and his hand was very tight on hers. Tooru felt a chill of fear run down her spine as Todoroki looked at her. Even though she was invisible and there was no way he could know where her eyes were, it felt as though he was looking right into them, like he <em>saw </em>her. His eyes were half-open, his lips pulled into a partial smile. Except for how tightly he held onto her hand, he looked totally at ease. </p>
<p>“Todoroki,” Tooru said, “What is it? You’re starting to freak me out.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry yourself about it too much, Hagakure,” he said, “If you’re very good and very lucky, you’ll never need to know why.”</p>
<p>“Okaaay,” she drew out the word. She was <em>definitely </em>freaked out now. “Is there something special about your flames?” </p>
<p>He lifted his other hand and put his finger against her lips in a shushing gesture. She felt the bite of cold ice on her lips and pulled back, surprised to find frost on her lips. She looked at him in alarm. How had he found her mouth so easily? She was <em>invisible!  </em></p>
<p>It was one thing to look at her face and find it despite not being able to see her, but he’d put his finger right in the middle of her lips, not at all out of place for that gesture. </p>
<p>“Trust me,” he said in a voice that was smooth and low and made her shiver, “And stop asking.”</p>
<p>Tooru bit her bottom lip hard. He <em>did </em>realize that only made her more curious, right? Like, what the heck was he even talking about?</p>
<p>He turned away again and tugged her hand as he pulled her down this side of the slope of the landslide zone. She had to hurry to keep up, since he seemed to move with such sure footing and so quickly compared to her. She was winded when they hit the bottom and were on flat land again. He finally let go of her hand and then, without a word, began to trot away. Tooru looked where he was headed and saw that it wasn’t the gate, where the other students were trying to regroup. He was headed down and back into the fray; she could see that mist quirk guy down there as well as a few others, like Midoriya, Kirishima, and Aizawa.</p>
<p>Tooru hesitated. She knew she should head back to the gate but…</p>
<p>She licked her lips. The ice had melted but that just left her lips cool and damp. She watched Todoroki away and wrapped her arms around herself. </p>
<p>Heart beating hard in her chest, legs shaking despite not understanding why she was just so afraid of her classmate, Tooru followed Todoroki.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Killing All Might is Unacceptable</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Todoroki didn’t stop to announce himself when he arrived as a backup for Izuku and Kirishima. </p><p>Izuku was standing there, facing off with the crazy guy with the hands and his giant monster companion, with the mist guy floating around and helping them both when the ice appeared from nowhere and carved the battlefield in half. It was a huge and jagged wall of ice, but despite how thick it was, Izuku was sure that he could see the flicker of flame on the backside- the side facing the villains.</p><p>He turned just as Kirishima shouted, “Todoroki!”</p><p>Todoroki gave Kirishima a nod but his attention was on Izuku, “Tell me the situation and what these bastards can do.” It wasn’t a request or even a question; it was snapped out like an order and Izuku couldn’t resist answering it. </p><p>Izuku blinked twice to collect his thoughts and then said, “Mist guy is obvious, he can make portals anywhere and is used as support and backup. Probably their escape route. The big guy has strength and speed but not much in his brain, I think. He’s the muscle and he regenerates. The guy with the hands all over him is the leader and, honestly, sounds like he’s crazy. His quirk is disintegration caused when he grabs you.”</p><p>“It’s localized to his hands?” Todoroki asked. He looked out at the ice and the fire beyond, lifting his left hand in a ‘Stop’ gesture, palm forward. </p><p>“Yeah, pretty sure it is,” Izuku said.</p><p>“Mm,” Todoroki said, “What do they want?” He began to slowly press forward with his fingers as if pushing down on the air. The flames on the other side of the ice wall became shorter and harder to see. Izuku wondered if Todoroki was pushing them out, towards the villains. Was his control of his flames that good he didn’t even have to see them to manipulate them?</p><p>“They thought All Might would be here so they could fight and defeat him, I guess. But he isn’t so now they’re just causing trouble so he’ll show up instead.”</p><p>“Well we can’t have that,” Todoroki said and then, with an amused chuckle he added, “My poor father would be heartbroken.”</p><p>“Eh?” </p><p>Todoroki didn’t elaborate, though, he just flicked his gaze briefly to Izuku and said, “I’ve got mid to long-range distance fighting nailed down. Leave the crazy motherfucker with me. You and Kirishima keep the big guy distracted.”</p><p>“And the mist guy?”</p><p>Todoroki flashed a wild grin, only for a second, but that was a second long enough for Izuku to really stare at him. </p><p>Katsuki had the same sort of manic grin. He rarely showed it, but sometimes-</p><p>“Don’t engage him directly. I’ve got him, too.”</p><p>“Todoroki-” Izuku began but then stopped as Todoroki took a step and he heard the faintest crackle of ice. </p><p>Izuku looked down, because smooth concrete shouldn’t sound like that, and realized that there was ice on the ground. There was ice all over the ground. In fact, as he looked around, there was a thin layer of ice as far out as he could see. He lifted one shoe and looked down. There was a perfect hole where his shoe had been, but with his foot missing, the ice spread out and covered the spot. It grew like a spiraling fractal and shimmered with a purple hue. </p><p>“Woah, Todoroki!” Kirishima shouted as he noticed the ice as well, “This is amazing!”</p><p>“I know,” Todoroki sounded incredibly smug. Then he lifted up his hands. He brought them together and then down and apart. There was a crunch and a whooshing sound and the wall of ice backed in his red flames parted, revealing the crazy villain on the other side. “I heard you were targeting All Might!” Todoroki pitched his voice up loud and clear so the villains could clearly hear him, “Unfortunately for you, I can’t let that happen.”</p><p>The man with the hands hanging off his body pointed at him, “You can’t stop me. This little display of yours means nothing!” He flicked his wrist and the big monster crashed through a different part of the ice wall, bits of red flame curling around its skin and guttering out. </p><p>Todoroki didn’t turn towards the monster at all. He was walking towards the whole he had made, red flames flickering up the outside of his left arm and curling the edges of his red hair. Izuku realized, abruptly, that he’d been entirely serious about Izuku and Kirishima managing the monster guy. Todoroki was trusting them to follow through so he didn’t have to waste his energy or attention on defending himself.</p><p>“Kirishima,” Izuku shouted to him, “Todoroki needs us to fend off the big guy. Come on and give me a hand!” </p><p>“Roger!” Kirishima ran over to him, ice crinkling across the ground. Izuku joined him in the sprint, momentarily distracted from whatever Todoroki was doing so he could fight the monster. </p><p>He saw the mist on the ground where his foot was about to land a second too late to stop his charge. It swirled into life, smokey around the edges, and pitch black in the middle. Izuku let out a surprised shout and braced himself for a fall.</p><p>His foot hit the portal. And the concrete beneath.</p><p>There was someone screaming in pain. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t Kirishima. It wasn’t the monster, either, which bore down on the two of them. Kirishima blocked a swipe with his arms, rigid with his quirk. The force of it lifted him into the air and left the monster with a momentary opening that Izuku lunged into with a punch. He drove his fist into its side, releasing the barest sliver of One For All along the edge of his knuckles. He still felt the bones crack and pain shooting up his arm, but the beast staggered back, bellowing in pain.</p><p>Speaking of bellowing, that horrible screaming had finally ended. He looked down and behind himself at the portal, fully expecting to see nothing considering he hadn’t fallen through anything.</p><p>There was a patch of ice over the portal with a cracking footprint, two footprints actually. One from him and one from Kirishima. Except- Except smoke was escaping from the crack. Smoke and something liquid and dark, like blood but not quite. </p><p>The ice wasn’t <em>over </em>the portal. The portal had been turned to ice.</p><p>Izuku looked for Todoroki. The hole in the ice wall had been reformed. He couldn’t see him or the hands guy or the main body of the mist guy. All he could see were flames rising on the other side of the ice. </p><p>“Midoriya, watch out!” Kirishima shouted and Izuku flung himself to the side. The monster’s fist impacted where he’d just stood and Izuku put the thought of Todoroki out of his mind. He had to focus and fight this big guy! He had to do it to protect All Might!</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Izuku thought he and Kirishima did a good job distracting the monster and fighting him, even though he did really bust up his arm doing so and Kirishima looked pretty banged up from tanking those hits. Still, he was so happy to see All Might when he descended from the sky with a fist to the ground. Ice and concrete cracked and the monster staggered under the shockwave. </p><p>Izuku hooked his good arm around Kirishima and hauled him back. Kirishima held onto him, breathing heavily, blood coming down the side of his face from an impact to the ground he had just recovered from. The two of them moved away while All Might dispatched the monster with ease. </p><p>As they watched, Todoroki walked out from behind his ice wall, brushing something off his shoulder. Relief flooded Izuku when he saw Todoroki all in one piece, “Todoroki! You’re okay!”</p><p>“Of course I am,” Todoroki said. He was watching All Might with a slight frown. “But the damn mist bastard snatched up the crazy guy right from under my flames.”</p><p>“He got away?” Kirishima mumbled. He sounded kinda dazed. “Well dang.”</p><p>Todoroki snorted. </p><p>About then, All Might finished with the monster guy and, stopping, looked around. The ice wall was still up, but all the flames were gone. He noticed the three of them and came over, “Boys,” he said, “Are you all right?”</p><p>“Kirishima and I are injured,” Izuku said, “But we’ll be okay.”</p><p>“The leader got away,” Todoroki said instead of answering the question, “Not exactly of his own volition, either. I did too much damage to the mist user too quickly and he got spooked and pulled out, taking the leader with him.” A smile cut across his lips, “But not before I took some chunks off of him, too.”</p><p>“Ah, well,” All Might looked a little uncertain when he addressed Todoroki. But he always looked that way, even in class, “It is unfortunate that they escaped capture, but it is good that they did not do you any serious harm, my boy.” </p><p>“They were after you, All Might,” Izuku said, “All of this was to fight you or draw you out and fight you. They wanted to defeat you!”</p><p>“They want to kill you,” Todoroki immediately corrected. “Quite painfully, too. Sounded personal, honestly.”</p><p>All Might sighed, as if this kind of thing happened a lot to him. Well, considering how good a hero he was and the injury scar on his chest that Izuku knew about, he wasn’t really that surprised. Somberly, he looked at All Might. “We won’t let them do that, All Might. We’ll protect you.”</p><p>All Might stepped over and gently patted Izuku on the head, “That’s very noble of you, my boy, but it’s not your responsibility to-”</p><p>“Kid’s right,” Todoroki said casually, cutting All Might off, “We won’t let them do that. I have a vested interest in keeping you alive, sir, so please don’t wander off and get yourself into trouble. Next time, I’ll prioritize the mist user more so he won’t be available as anyone’s backup ever again.”</p><p>There was a finality to his tone that made Izuku cold. He looked at Todoroki, who had essentially just promised to permanently incapacitate the mist user, and saw his expression was the same aloof, almost bored look he almost always had. He wasn’t even looking at them. He was looking down at his hands, adjusting his gloves idly. </p><p>Before the conversation could go any farther, other people started to show up. More Pros and the other students. Everything bustled with activity and Izuku was hustled off with Kirishima to get medical attention. The last he saw of Todoroki, he was walking over towards Yaoyorozu, who looked a little worn out, but not injured.</p><p>And then, the next day, they all went back to school as if nothing had ever happened.</p><p>(And Izuku, who didn’t want to make Katsuki worry, kept the incident brief when Katsuki asked how the trip went. For all that his best friend watched the news every day, he didn’t really watch anything local. Izuku didn’t want him to worry more than he already did about Izuku becoming a hero. Besides, he hadn’t been <em>that</em> hurt and everything had turned out fine.)</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Questions and Answers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Momo wasn’t the only one who listened in curious surprise as the blonde general studies kid got to his feet and berated Midoriya in a foreign language. Pretty much everyone around her except for Todoroki stared, some of them slack jawed as he ranted. Momo chewed thoughtfully at her meal- it was pasta today, Todoroki had brought it- and wondered what he was yelling about. </p>
<p>Midoriya had clearly had a tough week dealing with his friend-boyfriend situation. She felt bad for him but she didn’t have any better advice than what Todoroki had already said. He just had to talk to his friend about it and clear the air! It wouldn’t be easy, of course, but it had to be done.</p>
<p>And it was just as clear that he hadn’t done it, either, because he’d been morose for days and now here was said friend-possible-boyfriend shouting at him and, if Momo had heard correctly, telling him he was an idiot for believing rumors. So he <em> wasn’t </em>a boyfriend, then. Poor Midoriya, he’d been all worked up for nothing. </p>
<p>“No good comes from rumor,” Momo murmured to herself with a shake of her head. “People really shouldn’t gossip so much.”</p>
<p>Todoroki grunted in response. </p>
<p>She looked over at him. Even though his eyes were mostly closed, he was looking out of the side of them at what was going on. She smiled to herself at that. Even Todoroki was curious! </p>
<p>She’d been surprised when he got up to talk to Midoriya about the whole thing, but it made sense in hindsight. Todoroki liked things a certain way, after all, and having a classmate sobbing in their seat was clearly something he didn’t like.</p>
<p>“What do you suppose he said?” Momo asked as the ranting voice died away.</p>
<p>Before Todoroki could answer, though, she heard Midoriya say Todoroki’s name. She glanced over and saw them looking down the table at them. She gave a shy wave. Todoroki hadn’t looked up yet. His eyes were actually closed.</p>
<p>“Todoroki,” she leaned forward, whispering, “They’re talking about you.”</p>
<p>“I know,” he murmured, his lips barely moving. He opened his eyes and looked at her. She thought she saw a strange flicker of something in them, but it was there and gone again.</p>
<p>For a moment, Momo held very still. She felt as though a cloud had settled over her, not like one would imagine it to be- all light and warmth and fluff. This was a cool, damp sensation like the condensation of water on a window, or the feeling of a heavy fog in the air. It was a strong feeling, making her shiver and goosebumps rise on her arms and neck, but it passed quickly.</p>
<p>As quickly as it took for Todoroki to turn his head and look away.</p>
<p>She was still blinking away the strange feeling when Todoroki got to his feet. “Don’t clear my place,” he murmured as he stood, “I’ll be back for it.”</p>
<p>Momo watched him go, blinking curiously after him. It was only when she turned back to the table, listening to the chatter pick up again, and glancing down the table at Midoriya, that she noticed his strange blonde friend was gone too.</p>
<p>Momo bit her lip. Todoroki wasn’t the delinquent type and the blonde boy didn’t look like he was one to pick fights either but still… Todoroki could be strange. She wasn’t quite sure <em> what </em>he was capable of and she didn’t just mean with his quirk.</p>
<p>There was nothing she could do but wait, though.</p>
<p>Wait and think of questions to ask him later, when he seemed like he was in a good and charitable mood.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru certainly wasn’t the only one who wanted to know what the heck was up with Todoroki and that general studies kid, but unlike Mina and the others, she’d already had a whole conversation with Todoroki before so she got chosen to ask him what the deal was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She only sort of tried to convince them to ask Momo instead, but that was generally considered rude since Momo was, as far as everyone was concerned, the only friend Todoroki had in class. Besides, she seemed way too nice to interrogate her friend on their behalf. Tooru wasn’t exactly afraid to ask Todoroki what the deal was, but she was nervous about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, it had to be done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was Friday, after all, and if no one asked anything then no one would know anything for the full weekend. It had only taken one afternoon for that rumor about Midoriya’s friend to blow way out of proportion, who knew what they would come up with if they had two whole days to speculate about the mysterious conversation Todoroki and the general kid had together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“His name is Bakugou,” Mina reiterated, “If Todoroki is his friend, you know for sure he’s gonna be picky about that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru nodded. She gave a cursory glance at Midoriya, but he was really wrapped up in his notes. Now that things had calmed down between him and his friend, he seemed to be trying to make up for how listless he was the last few days. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huffing out a breath, Tooru straightened her shoulders and looked at her friends again. Mina gave her a thumbs up, as did Denki, and the rest of them smiled encouragingly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru left the group and headed to the back of the room. Even though she was invisible, she could sense the others turning to watch her as she walked up to Todoroki’s chair. Momo sat up a little straighter when she saw her, tucking a small frown into the corner of her lips and glancing at Todoroki.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki himself blinked lazily at her approach. He had his cheek resting in his palm and his elbow on his desk, in a comfortable sort of slouched posture. He didn’t move at all when she stopped at her desk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru took in a deep breath and let it out. She tucked her hands behind herself, fingers nervously twined together. “Todoroki,” she started, “Can I ask you a couple of questions about what happened at lunch today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki lifted one eyebrow. “What do you want to know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That Bakugou kid from lunch, are you friends with him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A weird smile crossed his lips. “Am I friends with him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Tooru said, “You went off to have a private conversation with him, and then when you came back you were on a first-name basis, so we figure you must know him from before you went to school here or something. Is that true? Are you friends?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Friends,” he repeated again. “I suppose at the barest level of our relationship we are </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He leaned back in his chair, letting his hand drop to the surface of his desk. “However, Momo and I are friends. Katsuki and I are more than that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“More than that?” Tooru asked, “So you did know each other before Yuuei?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could say that,” he said, “You could say a lot of things.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To Tooru’s surprise, Momo spoke up, “Does Bakugou think you two are friends?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is an important distinction,” Todoroki said instead of actually answering her, “It would be bad to repeat Midoriya’s fuck up, wouldn’t it be?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was looking past Tooru (almost through her in a way that was distinctly creepy) at the back of Midoriya’s head. Tooru shifted on her feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That wasn’t really his fault,” Momo said quietly, “Everyone else made the assumption, he just wasn’t sure if it was true or not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He should have followed my advice and </span>
  <em>
    <span>asked,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Todoroki replied to her. He shot her a glare and though Momo looked down from his gaze, she didn’t really back down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You think everyone should do what you tell them to,” Momo said, “You’re not always right, you know. In fact, you thought he was his boyfriend too, didn’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki outright frowned at her, “It wasn’t like we had a lot of evidence to go on, one way or another. Besides, Midoriya draws people in. If he put half his mind to it he could easily lure in anyone even slightly interested in him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru blinked. Then she blinked again and leaned forward, “Todoroki, are you saying Midoriya is </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute?” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki glared at her instead. He didn’t blush or stammer or act bashful in the least bit, though, just rolled his eyes as if she were some sort of idiot. “Objectively speaking, yes. But he also has a magnetism to him that will, unavoidably and inevitably, draw people in around him. He’s doomed to be popular but he’s also apparently doomed to be ignorant of his own desirability and too busy with unrelated things to take advantage of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki made it sound less like a dating thing and more like, well, some sort of asset that could be used. It really stripped all the romance out of the idea that he found Midoriya cute. “Do you think he’s cute but that he’s not using his cuteness properly?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Appearance is as much a commodity as one's skill is,” Todoroki said. He wasn’t scowling as much as he had been before. “You should know that, Hagakure, you’re fucking invisible. You have to make up for that lack of appearance and use that potential weakness as a strength.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, true,” she said, “But I didn’t come back here to talk to you about that.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki’s weird little smile came back again and he folded his arms across his chest. “You want to know about me and Katsuki.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru nodded. “Because of how things went down with Midoriya. The rumor between him and Bakugou kind of spiraled out of control, you know? We were hoping you’d clear things up a little bit. So, are you friends? What’s the deal with him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. His gaze moved past her again and Tooru turned her head just enough to double-check where he was looking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course it was Midoriya. Although this time he had his shoulders hunched and his hand was still. He looked like he was trying to study, but only on the surface. It was pretty clear that he, like a lot of the others in the room, were eavesdropping on the conversation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t hurt that Todoroki, when he spoke, didn’t bother lowering his voice any. In the otherwise quiet room, everything he said was clear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right now I’m not sure exactly what we are,” he said, “But eventually I am going to make him mine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru didn’t know what to say to that. She just stared at him as he stared back at her, smiling smugly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s probably a really good thing that Bakugou </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>isn’t </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>in love with Midoriya. That would not be a pretty fight. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Make him yours like, uh, your boyfriend or something?” Tooru asked, just for clarification.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes that,” Todoroki said, “And more than that. I’m…” he hesitated for the first time since he started talking and though he didn’t look anxious or anything. He did look to the side and his hands tightened into fists on top of his desk. And he dropped his voice a little bit as he said, “I’m going to marry him. As soon as he says yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Tooru gaped at him, “Really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Todoroki nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re pretty young for that, don’t you think?” Tooru asked, “I don’t think you can even get married until you’re like, seventeen or something, and that’s with your parents saying yes or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, don’t remind me of that bastard,” Todoroki said with his upper lip curling in distaste. “He’s going to absolutely get in my way, isn’t he?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who?” Tooru asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My idiot father,” Todoroki said. He then waved his hand as if dismissing that before Tooru could ask for more information on it. “Don’t worry about him. It doesn’t concern you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okaaay,” Tooru said, “So you’re going to marry Bakugou?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does he know that?” Momo asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve agreed to spend time together again. To…” he hesitated again, “Get to know each other.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So… you’re dating him,” Tooru said, rocking forward, “Like, you’re boyfriends or something?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki gave her an irritated look, “It’s not so basic as that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But that </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>what you two are,” Tooru said. “I mean, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>going on dates, right? That’s usually what spending time together means.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki’s irritated expression deepened, “Yes. We’re going to go on dates. Obviously we’re going to go on dates. That’s what spending time together means.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not exactly,” Momo said quietly. “Dates are more structured than just spending time together. You go out to special places to form important memories. It can be simple, like just going out for a walk in a park with some ice cream. Or you can go to an event or amusement park or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru tilted her head to the side, “Have you gone on dates before, Momo?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Momo turned a little pink, mostly around the ears. “A few. They were kind of group dates since we were young but… it was more than just hanging out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru giggled, “You’ve got to tell us more about it later! I bet you had some really good dates!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is...an amusement park a good place for a date?” Todoroki asked after Momo blushed some more and stammered out some agreement to talk later. He looked from Momo to Tooru and back after he asked that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s all right,” Momo said, “But it’s getting a little later in the year for them. Usually, they’re a summer date location. Unless you go to one of the smaller fairs or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh I’ve always wanted to go to a carnival for a date!” Tooru clapped her hands together and held them against her chest with a heartfelt sigh, “We’d do those fun carnival games and my date would win me a giant stuffed animal as tall as me! That would be wonderful!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Momo smiled but Todoroki just kept frowning. He drummed his fingers on the table. “I hadn’t… thought about where we would go for a date,” he said quietly, “We used to-” he stopped, frowned a little, and then said, “But I suppose we don’t have to be so-” he bit his lip instead of finishing that sentence either. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” Tooru lowered her voice a little. The little crease between Todoroki’s brow was unusual. He looked honestly concerned with something, which surprised her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He opened and closed his hand as a fist on the table, flexing as if he was working through some intense emotion. He wasn’t looking at either one of them, but some distant point on the floor beyond Tooru. “Do you suppose he’ll want to go on dates?” Todoroki asked, “Not just… to dinner?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” Tooru said with absolute confidence. “That’s what couples do. They go out on dates together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not that going to dinner doesn’t count as a date,” Momo was quick to add. “You know that Italian place you get lunch from for pasta day? That’s your favorite place, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taking Bakugou there would definitely count as a date,” she said, “Dates can include meals as well as fun activities.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like karaoke!” Tooru suggested, “Or going to the beach. Or the zoo! There are lots of fun places for dates! You can even do group dates with others! Though I don’t know if anyone else is dating anyone yet.” She suddenly gasped, struck with a brilliant idea, “You should pick a really romantic place as your first date so that when you finally propose to Bakugou you can go back to where you two first went on a date and propose there and it will have all these wonderful memories!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todoroki stared at her. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’re going to propose eventually, right?” Tooru said, “There’s no reason not to plan it all out! I mean, unless it doesn’t work out-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>will,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Todoroki said sharply, his expression suddenly hard again. “It will work out this time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right!” Tooru said, “So you can focus on having a good time on your dates instead of worrying about other stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Other stuff?” Todoroki repeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, like, if he likes you or is pretending to for some reason or how long you’ll be together. You can focus on being a happy and healthy couple and preparing for a long and prosperous marriage!” Tooru put her fist in her palm, “My mom always says that the key to a happy relationship isn’t in worrying about being the person you think your partner will want, but in being the best person you can be and helping your partner do the same!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think maybe Todoroki should just focus on the little things right now,” Momo said, “Planning out the future so far in advance doesn’t always work out, you know?” She turned to Todoroki and smiled, “Just focus on going to places both you and Bakugou will like and spend time together that way. If it works out, then it works out!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s going to work out,” he reiterated. “I’m not letting him get away.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Momo sighed, “I don’t suggest trying to force him into a relationship with you if he doesn’t want that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glared at her. Momo gave him a level look back. Tooru felt a little nervous as she looked from one to the other. Momo and Todoroki sure had a strange kind of friendship! “Well, if you need help figuring out date ideas,” Tooru said cheerfully, “I know the other girls and I would certainly be willing to give you some suggestions!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She kind of expected Todoroki to scoff at her, but he didn’t. He nodded seriously at her and said, “Thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tooru grinned but knew he couldn’t see that so she gave him a double thumbs-up as well. “Good luck on your first date, Todoroki!” She took a step back, “If you go this weekend, you’ve got to tell us how it went! After all, you’re the first one in class to have a boyfriend!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Todoroki said, lifting his brows. He glanced at Momo, “Is that a common thing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Momo shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve got to, Todoroki!” Tooru said, “We’re all cheering for you, after all! You can do it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gave a sort of confused smile as Tooru backed away. He didn’t stop her with another question or anything and she hurried back to Mina and the others. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the way, she glanced at Midoriya who sat at his desk with his face in his hands, his ears a very pink. She wondered what that was about. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well. She’d have to get Kirishima to ask him since that had worked out pretty well before! </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Explanations and Invitations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Izuku learns the truth. Katsuki reveals his secrets. Shouto declares his intentions.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>and here it is, the final chapter a few weeks late. lmao sorry about that. had to rewrite the ending and then other stuff happened. anyway, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Todoroki was following him. </p><p>At first, Izuku didn’t think that he was. After all, they all had to collect their things and leave the school and head out the front gates to the street. Those students that didn’t stick around for anything usually left through the same exit. Previous to today, Izuku hadn’t really paid any attention to what Todoroki did when he got ready to leave school. Still, when Todoroki remained no farther than six feet behind him from the classroom to the front doors, Izuku was pretty sure he was following him. </p><p>Izuku couldn’t see Katsuki at the gate yet, but it was only a matter of time until he arrived. He ended up standing near the entrance, off to the side, and wasn’t at all surprised when Todoroki came to a stop a few feet away from him, also waiting.</p><p>“Todoroki?” Izuku turned towards him, “Are you following me?”</p><p>Todoroki arched one eyebrow. “This is where you meet Katsuki, right?”</p><p>Izuku nodded slowly.</p><p>Todoroki leaned against the wall, tucking his thumbs into his pockets. “Good.”</p><p>“You didn’t answer my question,” Izuku frowned.</p><p>“Do I really need to?”</p><p>Izuku frowned more. “Are you really going to try and marry Kacchan?”</p><p>“Yes,” Todoroki didn’t even hesitate to answer, “Why? Have you got a problem with that?”</p><p>“You just met yesterday,” Izuku said, “And I know you have two strong quirks, and you’re one of the best students in class as far as academics go, but…” he hesitated to finish that sentence. Todoroki just didn’t seem like Katsuki’s type. Not that Izuku was aware of what his type was. </p><p>But Katsuki <em> had </em> just said he wasn’t interested in dating any teenagers because they were too young or something. And they <em> had only </em> met that day at lunch! Sure some people probably would date and get engaged quickly but after one afternoon?</p><p>“But what?” Todoroki asked.</p><p>“But I don’t think…” Izuku hesitated some more, worrying his bottom lip. He didn’t know a lot about Todoroki himself. He knew some about his dad, just from keeping up with hero news and maybe saw a magazine or two with Todoroki in it as a future hero, but that wasn’t <em> knowing </em>someone. And besides, the charming boy in the magazine was clearly a face that Todoroki wore. He was much colder in person. He was hard to get close to and interact with. After all these weeks, they had only really talked twice and the second time had been earlier this week. Momo seemed close to him, but they only ate lunch together and sat near each other in class. Izuku never saw them walking together or heard them talking about plans to see each other outside of school like some of the other kids did. </p><p>“Don’t think what?” Todoroki’s lips were smiling, but his eyes were not.</p><p>“I don’t think you’d be good for him,” Izuku said, “Or good to him.”</p><p>“Oh?” Todoroki’s voice arched sharply, “Really? Why do you say that?”</p><p>“Well, Kacchan doesn’t really have a good opinion about heroes or people who want to become heroes,” Izuku said, “And that’s what you want to be, right? Your dad’s a hero, and he has a whole agency, and I read that you might take it over when you’re older?”</p><p>“He doesn’t like heroes?” Todoroki asked, “But what about you? You’re going to be a hero.”</p><p>“Yeah, and he tried to talk me out of it at first,” Izuku said, “But he acquiesced when we got older. Kacchan always says….” he stopped himself and stared at the ground. Katsuki always said that Izuku was more important to him than other people ever would be, which was fine for <em> him </em>to say but sounded a bit too arrogant for Izuku to claim.</p><p>“What does he always say?” Todoroki asked, “That is when you deign to talk to him.”</p><p>Izuku’s head snapped back up. Todoroki still had that little smile on his face, but his eyes hadn’t gotten any softer. Izuku glared at him, “This week was unusual. I talk to Kacchan all the time and about pretty much everything.”</p><p>“Pretty much everything, hm?”</p><p>“Everyone has secrets, Todoroki,” Izuku said, “Kacchan said so.”</p><p>“Oh certainly,” Todoroki said, “And what would you say if I told you I knew what his secrets are?”</p><p>Izuku blinked at him. For a moment, he was caught off guard. Katsuki wouldn’t tell Todoroki his secrets before he told them to Izuku, would he? He’d <em> just met </em>Todoroki. That didn’t make any sense! Which meant- </p><p>“I’d say that’s bullshit,” Izuku crossed his arms over his chest. “Kacchan doesn’t know you. He wouldn’t trust you with his secrets. I’d say that you’re messing with me.”</p><p><em> “Am I really?” </em> Todoroki asked, slipping so casually into Italian that Izuku jolted a little bit. <em> “Are you sure about that? Or are you just afraid that your monopoly on Katsuki has come to an end, and now you have to learn how to share him?” </em></p><p>Izuku gaped at Todoroki. He knew Italian? He- Katsuki’s yelling at lunch had all been in Italian- He must have heard all of that and- Did this mean that Todoroki was telling the truth? <em> Did </em>he know Katsuki’s secrets?</p><p>“What the hell is going on here?” Katsuki’s voice cut through the air as brashly as ever. Izuku jumped and turned towards him, both relieved to see him and anxious about it. Now he would have to ask, or Todoroki might ask, and then the truth would come out. Katsuki gave Izuku a worried look and then turned to glare at Todoroki, <em> “What are you telling Izuku?” </em></p><p>Todoroki waved a hand dismissively, <em> “Nothing, nothing.” </em></p><p><em> “Don’t lie to Kacchan,” </em> Izuku immediately said, indignant that Todoroki would even try. <em> “If you’re really gonna be with Kacchan like you say you are, then you should be honest with him!”  </em></p><p>Katsuki’s brows rose as he came to a stop beside Izuku, looking from him to Todoroki and back. <em> “Anyone want to tell me what the fuck is going on here?” </em></p><p><em> “Todoroki says he’s going to marry you,” </em> Izuku started with that part because it seemed like one of the most critical pieces of information. Then before either one of them could say anything, he added, <em> “And he said he knows your secrets, but you just met him, right? You wouldn’t just tell him things you wouldn’t tell me first, right? Even if you two do get married, you’re not married yet!”  </em></p><p>Todoroki had his hand over his face by the time Izuku had stopped. He looked an awful lot like the kids in middle school that would complain and call Izuku a stupid tattle-tale. Izuku didn’t understand why being honest to people was such a problem. Especially being honest to Katsuki! Just because they had a few secrets didn’t mean <em> everything </em>was now a secret!</p><p>Besides, he’d already made the mistake of not talking to Katsuki about something important. He was never going to do that again. It just wasn’t worth it.</p><p>Katsuki’s expression was a little strange. It was resigned and almost sad but not quite, as he looked at Izuku. He held up one finger and said, <em> “First of all, yes. Shouto and I will probably end up married. So long as we still agree to do so when we’re older. You’re right that we’re not married yet, and I’m not going to act like it, either. We just reconnected, so we’re still figuring things out.” </em></p><p>He held up a second finger, <em> “Secondly, it’s not so much that I told him anything; it’s more that he was there when it happened.” </em> He dropped his hand entirely and sighed. <em> “I wanted to wait until you were older to tell you about all of this,” </em> he gestured with one hand from himself to Todoroki before letting it drop to his side, <em> “But because Shouto’s here now, things are going to change a bit.” </em></p><p>Izuku felt a frantic wave of panic wash over him, and he stepped closer to Katsuki, whispering now, even though Todoroki was still just <em> right there </em> . <em> “Kacchan, what’s going on between you two? I feel like- I feel like there’s something really weird going on.” </em></p><p>Katsuki reached up and pinched his cheek gently. He had that old look on his face, that serious one he wore sometimes, and that did not make Izuku feel any better at all. <em> “Let’s head home first,” </em> he said, <em> “It’ll be more comfortable to talk there than here at school.”  </em></p><p><em> “Is he going to come with us?” </em>Izuku asked with a frown, glancing at Todoroki, who had gone back to loitering with his hands half out of his pockets. </p><p>Katsuki sighed. Then he nodded. <em> “This has to do with him, too,” </em>he said.</p><p><em> “Are you gonna tell the brat everything?” </em>Todoroki suddenly asked, staring hard at Katsuki. </p><p><em> “Yes,” </em> Katsuki said. He took Izuku’s hand, just like he always did, and turned towards the gate. Izuku squeezed his hand tightly and walked with him, unsurprised that Todoroki followed them. It <em> was </em>a little surprising when Todoroki hurried a few steps to walk on the other side of Katsuki instead of trailing behind. </p><p>
  <em> “Are you sure that’s the best idea?”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Yes.”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “And what are you gonna do when he freaks out on you? That’s a lot of sensitive information, you know.”  </em>
</p><p><em> “Do you think I don’t know that?” </em> Katsuki snapped, <em> “Do you think I’m making this choice lightly, Xanxus?”  </em></p><p>Izuku blinked a few times because that <em> definitely </em>wasn’t Todoroki’s first name, and, as soon as Katsuki realized he said it, he gave Izuku a furtive, worrying look. Izuku tried to smile and reassure him, but it was hard to with the way Todoroki glared at them both. </p><p><em> “I don’t know, </em> <b> <em>Hayato,” </em> </b> Todoroki said in a low, frosty tone, <em> “Maybe you’re jumping to some conclusions here, and you need to take a step back and think it through.”  </em></p><p>“Okay, that is enough!” Izuku jumped in before their bickering could get any worse. He let go of Katsuki’s hand and moved to physically stand between them. “We’re not going to talk about whatever it is any more until we get home, and we have some snacks, okay? I realize I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it’s obviously something weird and serious and important to both of you, so why don’t we take a breath and relax, okay?” He looked from Katsuki to Todoroki and back, “Please?”</p><p>Katsuki sighed again. He ran his hand through his hair and back to rub at the back of his neck. “Fine. Fine. You’re right, Izuku. It can wait until later.”</p><p>Todoroki snorted and turned his head away. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Katsuki wasn’t looking forward to this. </p><p>He had planned on having a few more years to figure out the words- to build up a foundation with Izuku that wasn’t founded in that pure child-like loyalty and adoration Izuku had for him. He had wanted Izuku to be older, his brain more fully developed, so he had a clear understanding of long-term consequences. He’d wanted to wait until Izuku was <em> at least </em>seventeen, if not older.</p><p>They sat around the low table that he and Izuku had done their homework at for the past decade, but right now, the only thing on the table was the tray of drinks and snacks that Inko had brought to them. With the way that Izuku sat, straight-backed and on his knees in a barely relaxed <em> seiza </em>, and how Shouto sat, one knee up with his elbow resting on it and his chin on his palm, there was this echo of the past that Katsuki struggled to see past. All he had to do was mentally superimpose Kyouya’s face on Izuku, and this meeting felt like the beginning of so many others he had mediated in his last life.</p><p>At least he could be grateful for the fact that Izuku was not Kyouya. He was much, <em> much </em>more reasonable to work with. </p><p>Still, Katsuki could feel a headache building behind his eyes. Oh, how he wished he could have a nice cup of black coffee with just a splash of something in it to help relax his head. He felt like he could use both the caffeine and the reduced inhibitions for this moment, but knew realistically that neither option was available to him. </p><p>Katsuki rubbed at his temple and sighed. When he lowered his hand, Izuku was looking at him in concern.</p><p>“Izuku,” Katsuki said, “The things we’re about to talk about- the stuff I’m about to tell you- you <em> cannot </em> tell anyone. Not your secret trainer. Not anyone at school. Not your mom. No one. You <em> have </em>to agree to that before I can tell you anything.”</p><p>Izuku fidgeted in place, which did more to break the weird illusion in Katsuki’s mind of him being like Kyouya than anything else would have. He pulled his hands off of the table and put them in his lap to hide them as he picked at his nails. “Can you tell me <em> why </em>I can’t tell anyone? Is knowing this thing you’re about to tell me going to put me in danger? Are you in danger because of it?”</p><p>“Not exactly,” Katsuki said, “It’s… It’s kind of hard to believe, even with the evidence. I don’t know if I would believe this to be real if you were the one telling me- If I wasn’t the one who had lived it. But there is some knowledge, some stuff that is related to what I’m going to tell you, that <em> could </em>put you in danger. Not by everyone, but maybe some people.”</p><p>Izuku nodded. “So no immediate danger? Just maybe someone being upset about it later on?”</p><p>“Yeah, something like that,” Katsuki said. </p><p>Izuku nodded again. He looked down at the table; his expression folded together in concentration as he considered his limited options.</p><p>Across the table from him, Shouto had picked up one of the little sandwich cookies that Inko had left with them and broke it in half between the fingers of his off-hand. He nibbled on the edge of it, his gaze wandering around the room in a clear sign of boredom. </p><p>“Okay,” Izuku said quietly. He lifted his chin and met Katsuki’s gaze. “I’ll be able to defend myself and protect people around me in case of danger. And I want to know what’s going on- I need to know.” </p><p>“Yeah, I figured you’d say that,” Katsuki muttered. He leaned forward, resting folded arms on the table as he got a little more comfortable. “I know this is going to sound insane, but what I’m about to tell you is true. It’s difficult to prove in concrete ways because most of the evidence I have is either in my head or in Shouto’s head. So I’ll do what I can to answer questions you have, but try to keep them for after I explain as best as I can first. Okay?”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>Katsuki took a deep breath and held it. Slowly, he let it out. His nerves were jangling, and his anxiety was making his hands shake badly, which is why he kept them tucked away in his folded arms. </p><p>“I can remember my past life,” Katsuki said, “I can remember all of it, from the beginning to the end, with only the gaps that come from natural memory loss. I’ve been able to remember my last life since I was a little kid here in this life. That’s why I knew how to speak all those languages, how to read and do math, and why I always got good grades in school. I already knew pretty much everything but the most recent history of this world.”</p><p>Izuku’s mouth had opened slightly as he spoke, but he didn’t say a word. He just stared at Katsuki, who took another bolstering breath and continued.</p><p>“I lived into my early forties before,” Katsuki said. He resolutely stared Izuku down, not daring to look at Shouto, not daring to look away lest he lost the courage to continue spilling his guts like this, “The man that I worked for was my best friend, and his name was Tsunayoshi. He was the tenth leader of a high profile, old Italian-Japanese mafia family called the Vongola. I was his right-hand man. During a moment of emotional distress and distraction, I was captured, tortured for information, and ultimately killed.</p><p>“I wasn’t a good person, Izuku. I was probably better than some, and my boss was better than most, but I still wasn’t a good person. I was a criminal and a killer and whatever else Tsuna needed me to be. Whatever order he gave, I obeyed. Usually, without question.” Katsuki swallowed dryly. This wasn’t how he’d expected to bring this all up at all. These weren’t the words he’d practiced in his head as he considered what to tell Izuku-</p><p>“That world and this world are very different from each other. In this world, the Vongola either doesn’t exist or is so underground they’re impossible to find through conventional means. The town where my boss was born and raised doesn’t exist. The place I was born does exist, but it’s about the tenth of the size it was in my world. There are some similarities: languages are mostly the same, the same sort of weaponry exists, there’s a shared history between both worlds up to a certain point.</p><p>“There’s a point where the timelines diverge, and this world developed quirks, and the one I lived in before didn’t. I don’t know what made the split. I don’t know if it was when quirks started up or just before or something else. I don’t think I could ever really find out, either.”</p><p>Katsuki paused and reached for one of the glasses. He sipped the cool water, taking a moment to gather himself. There was so much to talk about, so much to explain-</p><p>“I’m the same way,” Shouto said suddenly, taking advantage of Katsuki’s pause to speak. Katsuki quickly lowered his glass but bit his lip instead of interrupting Shouto. “I remember my past life. We come from the same place. He was mafia, and so was I, with a few extra bells and whistles. There’s no explanation for why we were reborn with our memories or why <em> we, </em>specifically, were reborn. There’s no reason for it. We didn’t do anything to cause this in our old life. Our deaths were not planned or prepared in any way.”</p><p>Katsuki put up his hand to keep Shouto from continuing. Shouto closed his mouth and exhaled through his nose, but he did stop talking. </p><p>Katsuki turned to look at Izuku. </p><p>His expression had not changed since the beginning. He was still slack-jawed, still wide-eyed. He just stared at them both in shock.</p><p>“We can’t go back to that world,” Katsuki said, “I mean, maybe we could if we devoted our entire lives here to figure out a way but we, well, at least I came to terms with the fact that this is my life now many years ago. I was born here and raised here, and I’m stuck here for the rest of my life, however long or short it ends up being. This life is like a second chance- Not a do-over since it’s a new place and a new life, but a second chance to live and make something of myself.” </p><p>He glanced at Shouto quickly before turning back to Izuku, “I know that this is kind of crazy to hear. It’s probably impossible to believe, but it is true. I swear it is, Izuku.”</p><p>He hesitated then, unsure what exactly to say next. </p><p>Again, Shouto spoke up when he went silent, “There is nothing we can do about what happened. There’s nothing you can do about it either. It is what it is. We remember what we remember. The only thing now is to accept it and move on.”</p><p>“You two,” Izuku said quietly, “You two remember your pasts. Where you already grew up. And you already knew each other?”</p><p>Katsuki nodded. “We worked together.”</p><p>“We were lovers,” Shouto added under his breath.</p><p>“That too,” Katsuki agreed with a glance in Shouto’s direction. Of course, he was staring right at Katsuki as if daring him to deny what they were to each other. “We were very close.”</p><p>“That’s why Shouto said he knew all your secrets already,” Izuku said, “Because he does. He knows everything about you.” There was a weird look in Izuku’s eyes as he said that, and his shoulders had slumped somewhat.</p><p>Katsuki leaned in, “Shouto knows the old me, the one who grew up in that other world and lived by the rules there. I’m not just that person anymore. I’ve been here for fifteen years. I’ve been <em>Katsuki </em>for fifteen years. That’s a lot of time to change. And I know he’s not exactly the same as he once was either. We still have to figure each other out; it’s just…. easier this time around. Safer.”</p><p>Izuku nodded. He ducked his chin down, though, staring at his hands in his lap as he mumbled, “Are you going to become criminals and mafia people again?”</p><p>Shouto snorted.</p><p>“No,” Katsuki said. “I was born into that before, but here, in this world, I don’t have to do that to survive. I have other plans, other goals. Shouto does, too, right?”</p><p>“Right,” Shouto said, “I was born into a different legacy here. Sure, I enjoyed my last life, but I did that already. It’s time for something new and interesting.”</p><p>Izuku looked up. Relief was written all over his face, and he pulled his hands from his lap so he could rest his arms on the table similarly to Katsuki. He leaned forward, “Do you think there are others like you two? Other people from your past life who are around?”</p><p>Katsuki shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. I used to hope that I would find some of the others I knew, but now…” He glanced at Shouto. Shouto turned his head to the side and met his gaze, arching an eyebrow. Katsuki gave him a helpless smile, “I don’t think I want anyone else to show up from before. Having Shouto here is enough.”</p><p>Shouto’s eyes grew wide, and his smug expression was wiped away with surprise. They stared at each other for a long moment before Shouto leaned forward, reaching out. He grabbed the front of Katsuki’s shirt and pulled him closer, planting a kiss right on his lips. </p><p>Izuku was the one who gave out a shocked squeak. Katsuki had expected some sort of reaction to his words and figured this was the most likely one.</p><p>The kiss didn’t last very long at all before Shouto pulled back, smiling slightly, “Anyone else would just complicate things,” he said, “You and I are enough.” </p><p>His heterochromatic gaze flicked briefly to Izuku, and he added, “And your little pet can tag along too.”</p><p>Katsuki thumped his fist on Shouto’s shoulder, “Don’t call him that. Izuku isn’t a pet. He’s my best friend.”</p><p>“He’s a little kid.”</p><p>“We were all little kids once,” Katsuki said, “And Izuku’s pretty smart.”</p><p>“Without any evidence at all and based entirely on the rumor of his classmates, which I remind you he has known for less than a month, he assumed you were secretly in love with him,” Shouto said dryly.</p><p>“To be fair, there is lots of evidence for that,” Katsuki said, “I’ve always taken care of him and been kind to him and looked out for him. I’ve treated him to sweets and tutored him without complaints and protected him from bullies and assholes. We’ve spent twelve years in each other’s company. If I <em> didn’t </em>remember my past life and I was just Katsuki, I probably would be in love with him. But I’d also actually be fifteen and incapable of handling that with any sort of maturity.”</p><p>“You’re not allowed to fall in love with your weird little student,” Shouto said firmly. “I forbid it.”</p><p>“Izuku is more like a son to me than a student,” Katsuki said flatly. He had to cover a roll of his eyes and a smile because Shouto’s possessiveness was somehow much more adorable as Shouto than it had been with Xanxus. Admittedly, he hadn’t minded it with Xanxus either. It had just been different. And harder to navigate. “But he’s my best friend first and foremost.”</p><p>“And your sky,” Shouto said with a frown.</p><p>Katsuki stifled a wince, but it was too late.</p><p>“Sky?” Izuku said. He’d been quiet for a while, clearly content to observe and think things through. He’d taken all of this pretty well, Katsuki thought, which didn’t surprise him. That was part of the reason he’d wanted to wait, after all. This young, and with how their relationship was, Izuku was likely just to believe anything Katsuki told him, even if it sounded insane. “You’ve said that before. Kacchan has called me that before. What does it mean?”</p><p>Katsuki opened his mouth to explain, but Shouto interrupted him. </p><p>He held out his hands, palms up, and in a second flames danced in the center of either palm. Katsuki sat back, sucking in a sharp breath at the sight of the cloud and storm flames that were in Shouto’s right and left hand, respectively. They were strong flames. Very strong. </p><p>“Where we come from,” Shouto said, “There are no quirks, but there are these flames that some people can learn how to wield. It’s a secret mostly kept away from the public. When Katsuki mentioned that there could be something dangerous in what he tells you, this is it. If anyone in this world knows how to use these flames, they almost certainly will be dangerous and probably also criminals.”</p><p>The fires entranced Izuku until the end of Shouto’s short speech. Then he blinked a few times and looked up from Shouto’s hands, “Why?”</p><p>“Because it was dangerous criminals and the members of the underworld that knew about the flames and kept them secret. We know about them because we used to be from there, so we were able to awaken them in ourselves and use them,” Shouto closed his fists and doused the flames. “Most people have one flame. Rarely do people have two or more. These flames are called Dying Will Flames, and the ones that Katsuki and I use are of the sky.”</p><p>“Kacchan has these flames too?” Izuku’s head turned sharply towards him.</p><p>Katsuki sighed and held out his hand. He took a deep breath and then summoned his sun flames out to dance along his fingers and open palm. “I can use more than one kind,” he said, “But I could in my past life too. This yellow kind is Sun flame, and the kind Shouto has is Storm and Cloud.”</p><p>“And you said I have sky?” Izuku asked, “How can you tell?”</p><p>“The flames all have different characteristics,” Katsuki said as he dismissed his flame and lowered his hand, “And they have different abilities. It’s also pretty common for certain personality types to be associated with certain flames. For example, the sky flame is the flame of harmony. It usually is very welcoming and friendly. The color of it is orange, and it behaves and looks the most like an actual flame. Sky flame users draw people in around them, and they can harmonize with the six other dying will flames of the sky.”</p><p>Izuku looked down at his own hands, which lay on the table, palms up. “Could I learn how to use those flames?”</p><p>“Yes,” Katsuki said. </p><p>Izuku looked up at him. His green eyes were bright with interest and excitement as he asked, “Will you teach me how?”</p><p>Katsuki couldn’t help but smile. He knew that this was going to happen the moment Izuku found out about the flames. And before, when he had no quirk, Katsuki wouldn’t have dared to show them to him. It wouldn’t have been safe.</p><p>But now that he had a powerful quirk….</p><p>“Yes,” Katsuki said. “I will.”</p><p>“I’ll help,” Shouto said quickly, “Since I’m the one with actual sky flame experience here.”</p><p>Izuku beamed at them both, “Thank you, Kacchan! Thank you, Todoroki!”</p><p>Shouto huffed out an amused breath, “Call me Shouto, brat. If you’re Katsuki’s kid, then you’re my kid too.”</p><p>Izuku blinked several times and then nodded, “All right. I guess?”</p><p>Katsuki sighed and ran his hand over his face to hide the stupid smile he felt on his lips. When his face was under control again, he dropped his hand and gave Izuku a serious look, “There’s a lot involved with the Dying Will Flames, Izuku. You’re going to need to take some serious notes and pay close attention to what I teach you.”</p><p>“Yes! I will!” Izuku promised. “I’ll do my best, Kacchan! You’ll see!” </p><p>Katsuki smiled. He would see. And he knew Izuku would make him proud.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was sunset. The air was crisp. The sky was purple, red, and orange. </p><p>Xanxus stood a few feet back on the front walk as Hayato made his polite goodbyes to Izuku’s mother. She was a nice enough lady, a little dim but kind, and had welcomed Xanxus into her home without question. She waved at him as Hayato turned away, and Xanxus lifted his hand in a quick goodbye wave. </p><p>There was no reason not to be kind to her, he figured. It would upset Izuku if he wasn’t, and that would upset Hayato, and Xanxus had no intention of doing that.</p><p>When Hayato reached him, Xanxus turned to walk beside him. For a long minute, he debated with himself on what to do with his hands. He was close enough to Hayato that the back of his hand brushed against the back of Hayato’s as they walked. </p><p>Cursing at himself for being stupid and nervous, Xanxus took Hayato’s hand in his, lacing his fingers between Hayato’s before he could second guess himself.</p><p>Hayato’s next step faltered a little, and he glanced at Xanxus. Xanxus squeezed his hand tightly, daring Hayato to pull away.</p><p>“My quirk comes from my palms,” Hayato said, “It’s nitroglycerin sweat that I can ignite for an explosion.”</p><p>“Well, it’s a good thing that my right hand only creates ice then, isn’t it?” </p><p>Hayato blinked. “It does? Don’t you also use flames?”</p><p>“My left side uses fire,” Xanxus said, “Two quirks. Two flames. Ice and cloud; fire and storm.”</p><p>“Well shit,” Hayato said, “That’s fucking cool.” He squeezed Xanxus’s hand and grinned, “Pun intended.”</p><p>Xanxus rolled his eyes. He liked the way Hayato’s smile looked on this new face. It wasn’t what he expected when he looked over at him, but Xanxus knew he’d get used to it eventually. He’d already decided he liked those red eyes focused on him. “You’re somehow even more of a nerd in this life than you were before,” Xanxus said, “How did you manage that?”</p><p>“I didn’t have to devote any time to learning how to fight,” Hayato said with a shrug, “And going through school again does that to you. I had to do <em> something </em>to keep my sanity in elementary class, so I just checked out and read every book in the library I could get my hands onto.”</p><p>Xanxus shuddered, “I avoided public school. I’ve just had tutors and online classes and scheduled tests to keep track of my advancement.”</p><p>“Convenient,” Hayato said. “But lonely.”</p><p>“Yeah, well,” Xanxus shrugged, “I’ve never been keen on making friends.”</p><p>Hayato bumped their shoulders together, “If you intend to keep your loner status, you’re going to have a tough time with Izuku. I can tell he already wants to be your friend. That’s if he doesn’t already consider you his friend. He’s going to latch onto you in class because I’m not there.”</p><p>Xanxus sighed heavily. “Great. Babysitting duty.”</p><p>“He can mostly take care of himself,” Hayato said, “It could be worse. He could actually be five.”</p><p>“If he was <em> actually </em>five, he’d practically be your son,” Xanxus said, “Not just sort of. I could handle looking after your son if I had to.” </p><p>Hayato stopped. Xanxus took another step before stopping as well and turning to look at him. </p><p>He wasn’t exactly sure what the look was that Hayato wore. His brows scrunched together and his lips pressed into a tight, small frown. “How do you want this to go, Shouto?”</p><p>“How do I want what to go?” Xanxus asked. He’d eventually get used to that name if Hayato said it, but it was still too early for him. </p><p>“I know we agreed to get to know each other again. To be together again. But how do you want it to go? How far are we going with this? Was Izuku telling the truth from before? Do you intend to marry me?”</p><p>Xanxus looked away.</p><p>It somehow was fitting that they were having this conversation on some neighborhood street, on the sidewalk not far from a streetlamp that hadn’t turned on quite yet. The sky was more purple and red than orange and gold, now, and Xanxus felt a chill on his left side. </p><p>“Shouto?” Hayato’s voice was soft, hesitant. “Xanxus?”</p><p>“I want everything,” Xanxus said, closing his eyes so he wouldn’t lose his nerve, “I want everything we couldn’t have before. I want to be with you. I want everyone to know about it. I want to be public. I want to live with you. I want to be first in your life. I want- I want to live the rest of my life with you and to have it last as long as possible. To raise kids if you want that or to have it just be you and I.”</p><p>He squeezed Hayato’s hand tightly and forced himself to look up and into Hayato’s face. He met those wide red eyes and continued, “We barely had each other before. We had to be so careful and couldn’t spend too much time together. And then what little we did have was taken away when you were. No one is hunting us here. No one knows us. We’re free of everything that kept us apart before.”</p><p>Hayato’s surprise bled into a warm smile and a softness to his red eyes that made Xanxus’s heart clench tightly in his chest. “You’re right. We are free to be with each other in ways we weren’t before. We can do so much more this time around.”</p><p>“That’s what I want,” Xanxus said, stepping closer to Hayato. He lifted his free hand and, hesitantly, cupped Hayato’s cheek. “Be with me, Hayato. Marry me.”</p><p>Hayato put his hand on top of Xanxus’s hand leaned his head against his palm. “All right,” he said. “I will.”</p><p>Xanxus immediately leaned in and kissed him hard on the lips. Hayato made a pleased noise as Xanxus pressed closer to him. His arm went around Xanxus’s middle, holding onto him as they kissed.</p><p>When Xanxus pulled back, slow and reluctantly, panting for breath, he said, “Tomorrow’s Saturday. Come on a date with me.”</p><p>Hayato blinked a few times and then laughed. It was a bright, happy sound and made Xanxus’s breath catch in his throat. </p><p>“Yeah sure,” Hayato said. “Let’s go on a date. That sounds wonderful.”</p><p>Xanxus kissed him again in wholehearted agreement.</p>
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